US politics
Raphael Warnock wins Georgia runoff, bolstering
Democratic Senate majority
Incumbent Democrat fends off challenge from Republican
Herschel Walker to gain party’s 51st seat
Joan E Greve in
Washington
@joanegreve
Wed 7 Dec
2022 05.20 GMT
The
Democratic incumbent, Raphael Warnock, won the Georgia Senate runoff on
Tuesday, securing his first full term and delivering a 51st seat to bolster his
party’s majority in the chamber.
The
Associated Press called the race about three and a half hours after polls
closed in Georgia, as Warnock led the Republican candidate, Herschel Walker, by
approximately 40,000 votes.
Shortly
after that, Warnock took the stage at his campaign’s victory party to thank his
supporters. A pastor at the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr once
preached, Warnock has held one of Georgia’s two Senate seats since winning a
special election in 2021. As he began his remarks in Atlanta, supporters
chanted: “Six more years!”
Warnock told
the crowd: “After a hard-fought campaign – or should I say campaigns – it is my
honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: the
people have spoken.”
One of 12
children born to a father who was also a pastor and a mother who once picked
cotton, Warnock reflected on the unlikelihood of his path to the Senate. His
mother was with him at his victory party, after she had the opportunity to
again cast a ballot for her son.
“I am
Georgia,” Warnock said. “I am an example and an iteration of its history, of
its pain and its promise, of the brutality and the possibility. But because
this is America, because we always have a path to make our country greater
against unspeakable odds, here we stand together. Thank you, Georgia.”
Joe Biden
called Warnock to congratulate him, describing his victory as a defeat of
Republican extremism and Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” philosophy.
“Tonight Georgia voters stood up for our democracy,
rejected Ultra MAGAism, and most importantly: sent a good man back to the
Senate,” the president said on Twitter.
Walker
conceded, acknowledging that his campaign had fallen short and expressing
gratitude to his team. The Republican explicitly thanked election officials who
ensured the runoff was managed effectively, quelling concerns he might refuse
to accept the result.
“I don’t
want any of you to stop believing in America,” Walker told supporters. “I want
you to believe in America and continue to believe in the constitution and
believe in our elected officials … Always, always cast your vote no matter
whatever is happening.”
Walker’s
loss came a month after the national midterm elections, when neither he or
Warnock secured enough support to win outright, thus requiring the runoff. The
runoff was just the latest in a series of very close races in Georgia,
reflecting the state’s relatively new status as a toss-up after decades of
being considered safely Republican.
Nearly 2
million Georgians cast ballots before election day, and those early voters
appeared to significantly favor Warnock. Republicans were counting on a strong
election day turnout, but Walker’s support on Tuesday was not enough to get him
across the line.
The race
had been upended several times by controversy surrounding Walker, a former
University of Georgia and NFL football player who won the Republican primary
after receiving Trump’s endorsement.
Multiple
women previously in relationships with Walker accused him of pressuring them to
have abortions, despite his staunch anti-abortion views. In the final weeks of
the runoff, Walker also faced questions over reports that he received a tax
break intended for primary residences on his home in Texas.
Walker’s
defeat will likely intensify questions over Trump’s standing in the Republican
party. Overall, Trump-endorsed candidates fared poorly in this election season,
prompting questions from some of the former president’s critics over whether he
has pushed his party to an unpopular extreme.
Walker’s
failure will be particularly worrisome for Trump given that Republicans swept
other top statewide races in Georgia. Two of those candidates, the incumbent
governor, Brian Kemp, and secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, attracted
Trump’s ire for pushing back against his efforts to overturn Biden’s 2020
victory, the first time a Democrat took Georgia since 1992.
Before the
result was called, the former Republican congressman Will Hurd said on Twitter:
“If Walker loses tonight, it will be the sixth time in a row a Democrat beat
Trump or a Trump-endorsed statewide candidate in Georgia. It’s time to move on,
build the future with conservative principles, and get rid of the crazy
bullshit.”
Some
rightwing leaders suggested the runoff result raised questions about Trump’s
hopes of recapturing the White House, after he announced a third consecutive
presidential bid last month.
“Conservatives
across the country are tired of losing,” Bob Vander Plaats, president of the
group the Family Leader, said on Twitter. “#2024 is key to winning the future
again. #ChooseWell.”
The runoff
did not determine control of the Senate, as Democrats had already won enough
seats to maintain their hold for two years.
But
Warnock’s victory does give Democrats a crucial 51st seat, allowing them to
abandon their current power-sharing agreement with Republicans. A 51-seat
majority will also provide some wiggle room when it comes to close committee
votes and nomination fights. That new dynamic could make the Senate majority
leader, Chuck Schumer, less reliant on centrists like Joe Manchin of West
Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to pass legislation and confirm
nominees.
The 51-seat
majority could also help Democrats offer a counterweight to investigations
expected to be launched by House Republicans, who took the majority in the
lower chamber after the midterms last month. Now that they have a clear
majority in the Senate, Democrats will be able to issue subpoenas without
Republican support.
“51!”
Schumer said in a joyous tweet. He later added: “Senator Warnock’s well-earned
victory is a victory for Georgia, and a victory for democracy and against MAGA
Republican extremist policies.”
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