WASHINGTON — One month after the 2022 midterms, Georgia's runoff election has cemented a solid Democratic majority in the Senate: Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock beat Republican challenger Herschel Walker to win the U.S. Senate seat.
It has been one of the most closely watched races for months, though unlike 2020, this race did not decide Senate control. Democrats flipped a Republican-held Senate seat in Pennsylvania to maintain their thin advantage in the chamber without relying on the outcome in Georgia.
Georgia saw record-breaking early voting turnout for the runoff ahead of the last day of voting on Tuesday, Dec. 6.
Polls closed at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Here's a breakdown of updated election results for Georgia's Senate runoff race
Who's on the ballot for Georgia's runoff?
A third candidate, Libertarian Chase Oliver, took 2.1% in the initial round of balloting Nov. 8. That was enough to keep both Warnock and Walker, the former University of Georgia football standout, from taking more than half the vote, which is required to avoid a runoff.
Less than 1 percentage point separated Warnock and Walker, with Warnock slightly ahead. They are the only candidates up for consideration Dec. 6.
More than 2.5 million Georgians already cast their ballot in the early voting period, and if overall turnout resembles that of the 2021 runoffs, we could be in line for something in the range of 2 million more voters casting their vote in-person on Tuesday.
Warnock has campaigned on Democrats’ legislative accomplishments like coronavirus relief and infrastructure reforms. Walker has been beleaguered by a variety of critical attention, including claims he exaggerated his business success, as well as successive reports alleging that he encouraged and paid for a woman’s 2009 abortion.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.