Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is projected to win by multiple media outlets; at press time, Warnock led Herschel Walker 50.81 percent to 49.19 percent with 95.6 percent of counties and precincts reporting. However, that margin is expected to widen with many of the Atlanta-area counties only partially reporting results and rural counties having largely complete their reporting.
In Georgia, a candidate can request a recount if the race margin is less than or equal to 0.5 percent, according to a state website. In a short speech after the race was called, Walker acknowledged the results and thanked his supporters, telling them to never stop dreaming and believing in America.
“There’s no excuses in life, and I’m not going to make any excuses now, because we put up one heck of a fight. And that’s what we’ve got to do, because this is much bigger than Herschel Walker,” he said.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told CNN on Tuesday afternoon that over one million votes had been cast in person, on top of nearly 1.9 early votes cast. On Monday, conservatives had estimated that one million or more Election-Day votes would be enough for Walker to break even or pull ahead, but Warnock’s early vote lead appeared to clinch his win by Tuesday night. Democrat-favoring counties around Atlanta started early voting the weekend after Thanksgiving with DeKalb starting the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, but Republican-favoring counties in other parts of the state didn’t choose to begin early voting until Monday after Thanksgiving.
“If the trends hold, the Saturday and Sunday of early voting in primarily Democratic [counties] could be the difference,” Georgia Faith and Freedom Coalition Executive Director Mack Parnell told The Georgia Star News Tuesday night.
The result gives U.S. Senate Democrats more breathing room, boosting their slight majority to 51-49 while Republicans hold a slight majority in the House of Representatives. But things look better for Georgia Republicans at the state level.
“While it appears Republicans lost the Senate seat in Georgia, they won the governorship, all of the statewide state constitutional offices, both chambers of the state legislature, and an additional congressional seat. It’s easy to be discouraged, but the election results as a whole show conservative values still matter for Georgia voters,” Parnell said.
“I believe Governor Kemp heads into legislative session with tremendous momentum. With new leadership in both the State House and State Senate, Governor Kemp will play an increasingly key role in shaping policy. I believe the conservatives have a strong mandate. Some key issues I have been hearing are continuing to lower the state income tax, educational freedom, protecting children, and religious freedom,” he said.
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Eric Burk is a reporter at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Raphael Warnock” by Reverend Raphael Warnock.
