The ultimate Senate contest of the 2022 midterm elections will finally be decided in Georgia on Tuesday as voters make a choice from incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a high-stakes race that may determine whether Democrats can expand their razor-thin majority within the chamber.
The candidates were forced right into a runoff after neither Warnock, 53, nor Walker, 60, got greater than 50% of the vote within the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Leading as much as Election Day on Tuesday, early voting within the Peach State set a lot of single-day records and nearly 2 million ballots had already been forged before the period ended on Friday.
Reflecting the critical significance of the race, spending by the candidates and out of doors groups has neared $400 million, making it the costliest contest within the 2022 election cycle, based on data compiled by OpenSecrets.org.
Based on a RealClear Politics’ average of the polls, Warnock has as much as a 5 percentage point lead over his political rival Walker, a former star running back on the University of Georgia, within the USFL and within the NFL.
Walker, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has received strong support from national Republicans with a lot of high-profile lawmakers trekking to Georgia to campaign with him – including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
Trump was expected to carry a tele-rally for Walker on Monday evening.
Former President Barack Obama rallied with Warnock last week, but Biden, like Trump, didn’t travel to Georgia to campaign for the senator.
Democrats point to the big early vote as a bonus for Warnock but Republicans are hoping a surge of GOP voters on Tuesday can turn the tide for Walker.
A win by Warnock could give Democrats a 51-49 advantage within the Senate, a margin large enough to offer Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer room to maneuver around Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who’ve used their influence in narrow majority to dam a few of Biden’s legislative agenda.
With 51 Democratic senators, Schumer could afford to lose the support of 1 member of his caucus and still win votes.
If Walker wins, the 50-50 split within the upper chamber would remain because it has over the past two years, with Democrats counting on Vice President Kamala Harris to forged tie-breaking votes.
Republicans won a small majority within the House within the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by about 5 points in Georgia within the 2016 presidential election, but lost to President Biden by about lower than one point in 2020.
However the 2020 election in Georgia was pivotal for Democrats as each Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff racked up wins to provide Democrats the 50-50 majority they’ve within the Senate.
Warnock, the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, defeated incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler to develop into the primary African-American elected to the US Senate from Georgia.
But he needed to run for re-election again this 12 months because his win over Loeffler was in a special election to complete the rest of Sen. Johnny Isakson’s six-year term after he stepped down in 2019 due to health concerns.
With Post wires
The ultimate Senate contest of the 2022 midterm elections will finally be decided in Georgia on Tuesday as voters make a choice from incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a high-stakes race that may determine whether Democrats can expand their razor-thin majority within the chamber.
The candidates were forced right into a runoff after neither Warnock, 53, nor Walker, 60, got greater than 50% of the vote within the Nov. 8 midterm election.
Leading as much as Election Day on Tuesday, early voting within the Peach State set a lot of single-day records and nearly 2 million ballots had already been forged before the period ended on Friday.
Reflecting the critical significance of the race, spending by the candidates and out of doors groups has neared $400 million, making it the costliest contest within the 2022 election cycle, based on data compiled by OpenSecrets.org.
Based on a RealClear Politics’ average of the polls, Warnock has as much as a 5 percentage point lead over his political rival Walker, a former star running back on the University of Georgia, within the USFL and within the NFL.
Walker, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has received strong support from national Republicans with a lot of high-profile lawmakers trekking to Georgia to campaign with him – including Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Rick Scott of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas.
Trump was expected to carry a tele-rally for Walker on Monday evening.
Former President Barack Obama rallied with Warnock last week, but Biden, like Trump, didn’t travel to Georgia to campaign for the senator.
Democrats point to the big early vote as a bonus for Warnock but Republicans are hoping a surge of GOP voters on Tuesday can turn the tide for Walker.
A win by Warnock could give Democrats a 51-49 advantage within the Senate, a margin large enough to offer Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer room to maneuver around Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who’ve used their influence in narrow majority to dam a few of Biden’s legislative agenda.
With 51 Democratic senators, Schumer could afford to lose the support of 1 member of his caucus and still win votes.
If Walker wins, the 50-50 split within the upper chamber would remain because it has over the past two years, with Democrats counting on Vice President Kamala Harris to forged tie-breaking votes.
Republicans won a small majority within the House within the Nov. 8 midterm elections.
Trump defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton by about 5 points in Georgia within the 2016 presidential election, but lost to President Biden by about lower than one point in 2020.
However the 2020 election in Georgia was pivotal for Democrats as each Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff racked up wins to provide Democrats the 50-50 majority they’ve within the Senate.
Warnock, the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, defeated incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler to develop into the primary African-American elected to the US Senate from Georgia.
But he needed to run for re-election again this 12 months because his win over Loeffler was in a special election to complete the rest of Sen. Johnny Isakson’s six-year term after he stepped down in 2019 due to health concerns.
With Post wires
