Walker-Warnock Race In Georgia Headed To Dec. 6 Runoff

The Georgia Senate race between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker is headed to a runoff, NBC News projected on Wednesday, as neither candidate has achieved the 50% required under state law to win the ballot.

According to the Georgia Secretary of State, the runoff will take place on Dec. 6.

Tuesday’s election pitted Warnock – who was elected in a 2020 special election, against the former NFL star, who was supported by former President Donald Trump. This is Walker’s first foray into politics.

Walker trailed in the polls for months, dogged by revelations about his turbulent past. In the final month, he faced allegations from two women who claimed he pressured them to have an abortion years ago. He denied the accusations and accused the women of lying. But he gained ground in the run-up to Election Day as he sought to rally the GOP base on cultural issues and tie Warnock to President Joe Biden, blaming the two Democrats for rising inflation and crime. –NBC News

Warnock, meanwhile, campaigned on previous victories in lowering the cost of prescription drugs and insulin prices, as well as forging alliances with Republican senators to expand highway infrastructure in the South, as well as helping peanut farmers. 

He painted Walker as a scandal-plagued opponent who is unfit to be a US senator.

As NBC News notes, given the chart above (with NV leaning right and AZ leaning left) it’s entirely possible that this Georgia run-off race could decide which party controls the Senate.