Raphael Warnock beats Trump pick Herschel Walker

Sen. Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent from Georgia, is projected to beat Republican challenger Herschel Walker within the state’s runoff election to win a full six-year term within the Senate, in response to NBC News.

Warnock’s projected victory over Walker will give Democrats a 51-49 majority within the Senate, a potentially crucial boost that caps much-better-than-expected midterm elections for the party accountable for the White House.

It also marks a significant loss for former President Donald Trump, who had championed Walker and campaigned for him. Trump was already under fire from some Republicans after lots of his handpicked candidates underperformed in key midterm races, helping Democrats keep majority control of the upper chamber of Congress.

“Thanks, Georgia. We did it again,” Warnock tweeted Tuesday night.

Walker gave what was essentially a concession speech to a crowd at his election watch party around 11 p.m. ET. “I’m not going to make any excuses because we put up one heck of a fight,” Walker said.

The final result of Georgia’s protracted, bitterly competitive Senate contest could have a significant impact on Congress, each for the rest of President Joe Biden’s first term and for the 2024 cycle, when Democrats again face a tough electoral map.

The race went to a runoff after neither Warnock nor Walker won greater than 50% of the vote within the Nov. 8 general election. While Warnock got more votes than Walker, third-party candidate Chase Oliver, a Libertarian, secured just over 2% of the vote, keeping either of the 2 primary contenders from clinching a majority, in response to NBC News’ count.

But only Warnock and Walker were on the ballot for the runoff, eliminating any potential coattail effect that Walker might need benefited from in November, when Georgia’s GOP Gov. Brian Kemp handily won reelection.

As an alternative, Walker’s gaffe- and scandal-plagued campaign was on full display, as more reports in regards to the former NFL star’s personal life continued to come back out within the runoff period.

Republicans circled the wagons across the ex-NFL star after The Every day Beast and other news outlets reported that Walker, who expressed staunchly anti-abortion views on the campaign trail, had paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion years earlier. Walker denied the allegations, at the same time as his adult son Christian Walker castigated his father on social media. Lower than two weeks before the midterms, a second woman got here forward to assert Walker had pushed her to get an abortion.

Christian Walker pointed the finger at Trump after Walker’s projected loss.

“The Truth: Trump called my dad for months DEMANDING that he run,” Christian tweeted Tuesday night. “Everyone with a brain begged him: ‘PLEASE DON’T DO THIS. This is just too dirty, you’ve an insane past… PLEASE DON’T DO THIS.’ We got the center finger. He ran.”

Walker’s personal life had already been under scrutiny before those allegations got here to light. Earlier within the campaign, Walker had acknowledged fathering multiple other children who weren’t previously known to be related to him. The Senate bid has also raised questions on Walker’s mental health, and accusations by Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, resurfaced that he had been abusive and threatening toward her.

Just last week, The Every day Beast reported allegations by Cheryl Parsa, an ex-girlfriend of Walker’s, accusing the Senate candidate of violent behavior and infidelity.

Warnock’s win will provide Democrats with critical leverage within the Senate, after nearly two years through which the chamber was split 50-50 and Vice President Kamala Harris held the tiebreaking vote. With a 51-49 majority, Democrats will gain majorities on key Senate committees, which could make it easier for them to verify nominees.

It could also lessen the outsize influence wielded by a couple of moderate Democrats, especially Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, whose votes were needed for Democrats to pass laws through the evenly split chamber.