Georgia Senate Race

Sen. Warnock defeated Walker in a tight reelection race, the latest GOP defeat in a midterm cycle marked by worse-than-expected Republican results.

The candidates headed to a runoff after Warnock led Walker 49.4% to 48.5% in the November general election, with both candidates falling short of the 50% needed to win outright. Walker, meanwhile, was dogged by a series of gaffes in his final days on the campaign trail—including a missive about werewolves and vampires that was the subject of a Warnock ad—along with fresh controversies regarding his relationships with women. The House will flip from Democratic to Republican control next year, but the GOP’s majority is smaller than expected. The race was viewed as pivotal in Democrats’ quest to expand their current 50-seat Senate majority. Warnock appeared to have an advantage in polls headed into Tuesday, and more than 1.8 million Georgians cast their ballots early during the runoff cycle, a good sign for Warnock as early voters tend to lean Democrat. Senate forecasts shifted from favoring Democrats to slightly favoring Republicans in the runup to November 8, but Senate Democrats held their majority after eking out wins in several major toss-up races last month, beating GOP candidates in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Nevada. [Georgia Senate Runoff: Warnock Holds 5-Point Lead Over Walker, New Poll Finds](https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2022/12/05/georgia-senate-runoff-warnock-holds-5-point-lead-over-walker-new-poll-finds/?sh=31e5ed225de6) (Forbes) [Georgia Senate Runoff: Warnock And Walker Attack Each Other In New Ads As Early Voting Kicks Off ](https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2022/11/28/georgia-senate-runoff-warnock-and-walker-attack-each-other-in-new-ads-as-early-voting-kicks-off/?sh=2defebf31c5f)(Forbes) [Elections Results 2022: Pending Results In Two Senate Races Could Decide Majority Control](https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2022/11/09/elections-results-2022-pending-results-in-two-senate-races-could-decide-majority-control/?sh=3cf114d41510) (Forbes) [The Herschel Walker Scandals: Woman Claims He Attacked Her, Latest Story To Roil The Campaign](https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2022/12/01/the-herschel-walker-scandals-woman-claims-he-attacked-her-latest-story-to-roil-the-campaign/?sh=7536124779dc) (Forbes) Warnock’s victory means the Senate will be split 51-49 between the two parties, meaning Democrats will no longer need to rely on Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote and will have a slightly easier route to passing bills. Warnock sought a full six-year term as senator after the Atlanta pastor won a special Senate election in early 2021, while Walker—a Heisman-winning former football player—challenged Warnock with former President Donald Trump’s Warnock’s lead was bolstered by a strong shocking in Atlanta and its sprawling suburbs, including Fulton County (where Warnock won 73.6% as of 11 p.m.), Gwinnett County (58.9%), Cobb County (56.8%) and DeKalb County (84.3%), while much of Walker’s support came from deep-red counties in rural and exurban parts of the state. In a Tuesday night speech, Walker didn’t explicitly concede to Warnock but seemed to acknowledge defeat, saying “the numbers don’t look like they’re going to add up” and telling his supporters “we put up one heck of a fight.” Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) won reelection Tuesday, defeating Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a tight runoff race that will give Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority for the next two years—the latest GOP defeat in a midterm election cycle marked by worse-than-expected Republican Senate results.

Why Democrats hope to have a 51-49 majority after Georgia's Senate runoff. From CNN's Ali Zaslav and Ted Barrett ; Walker takes narrow lead in tight Georgia runoff ; Faith leaders kick off Warnock Election Night party. From CNN's Eva McKend.

"Georgia voters said they wanted a Senator who would fight for them — and made it a reality when they reelected @ReverendWarnock to the U.S. He urged Georgians to "believe in America" and the Constitution. "I walked in the line and stood there like everybody else did and I knew exactly what I was going to do because nobody had earned my vote. And after a hard-fought campaign – or should I say campaigns – it is my honor to utter the most four most powerful words in a democracy: The people have spoken," he said. “I'm proud of the bipartisan work I’ve done and I intend to do more." I'm never going to stop fighting for you," he added. “We put up one heck of a fight," he said. The runoff was a final midterm test of the former president’s influence as he embarks on a third White House bid. Of its pain and promise, the brutality and the possibility. One of the most common refrains in politics is that voters hate Washington and want outsiders to be elected to office. Bend and back in the love of history and horticulture to this city by the sea. It simply means that you the people have decided that your voices will not be silenced," he said during his victory speech Tuesday.

How Warnock did it, plus what it adds to our understanding of the 2022 election (and of Trump).

With 94 percent of the expected vote in, Warnock leads by one percentage point. The Associated Press and Edison Research have called the race for the Democratic senator. [won reelection in the Georgia runoff](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/06/georgia-runoff-live-updates/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2) on Tuesday night, turning aside a challenge from Republican former football star Herschel Walker.

Veteran GOP strategist Karl Rove suggests his party take former President Donald Trump's future endorsements as a "warning to beware" after a string of ...

[winning Ohio's Senate seat](https://www.foxnews.com/elections/2022/midterm-results/state/ohio), won only by 7 points. [CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP](https://www.foxnews.com/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink) Though Georgia has become more competitive in recent years, Walker was the only Republican to lose a statewide election in the state this year, while every other GOP candidate won by 5 points or more, avoiding a runoff election. Bush, has been a critic of Trump in the past and again urged his party to take caution when considering the former president's picks in future races. While Democrats celebrate their 51st seat in the upper chamber, Karl Rove, a veteran GOP strategist and Fox News contributor, says the Republican loss was avoidable. "It shouldn't have been," Rove told Fox News Digital.