Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) was the projected winner Tuesday night, defeating former NFL player Herschel Walker (R) in Georgia’s runoff election for U.S. Senate.
The midterm race was pushed into the runoff contest per Georgia state law after neither candidate managed to win 50% of the vote in the general election on November 8.
On Tuesday, Warnock was propelled to victory by urban voters in DeKalb and Fulton Counties, following record-breaking early voting. Some 1.85 million Georgians have voted early, either in person or by mail, breaking two single-day records in about a week.
Because Democrats held onto the Senate Majority in the midterm elections thanks to Vice President Harris’ tie-breaking vote, Warnock’s win in Georgia only cements Democrats’ majority, 51 seats to the Republicans’ 49. (A Walker win would have kept the Senate 50/50 with Harris breaking any ties in favor of Democrats.)
