U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herchel Walker entered a tight race in Georgia on Tuesday night as election officials continued to count ballots in the state that determined party control of the Senate nearly two years ago and could it does so again in these intervening antiquities. The question is whether a candidate can win the contest outright or will it go to a runoff on December 6. Georgia requires a majority to win statewide office, and with partial returns showing a close race with a third candidate on the ballot, it was likely that neither Warnock nor Walker would break the 50 percent mark. It was too early for the Associated Press to call the fight. “We’re not sure if this journey is over tonight or if there’s still some work to be done,” Warnock told supporters lingering in an Atlanta hotel ballroom just before 2am on Wednesday. “I understand that at this late hour you may be a little tired,” the senator continued, “but whether it’s late tonight or tomorrow or four weeks from now, we’re going to hear from the people of Georgia.” Walker, a celebrity athlete-turned-politician, offered supporters an optimistic view hours earlier at his campaign party in suburban Atlanta. “I’m not coming to lose,” Walker said during his brief remarks. A runoff campaign would be a four-week blitz that, depending on results in other Senate contests, could repeat the 2020 election cycle, when two Senate runoffs in Georgia doubled as a national battle with the winners of control of the Senate. Wins by Warnock and Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., left the chamber split 50-50 between the two major parties, with Vice Speaker Kamala Harris giving Democrats the tie-breaking vote. A runoff would mean another month of Warnock hammering Walker, who is making his first bid for public office, as unfit and Walker attacking Warnock as a rubber stamp for the White House. “Raphael Warnock votes with Joe Biden 96% of the time,” Walker told voters over and over again. “He has forgotten the people of Georgia.” Warnock, who is also senior minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, counters that Walker is “not ready” and “not fit” for high office. This is a nod to Walker’s troubled past, from allegations of violence against his ex-wife to accusations from two women that Walker once encouraged and paid for their abortions despite his opposition to public abortion. Both approaches highlight the candidates’ most glaring liabilities. Amid high generational inflation and with Biden’s popularity lagging in Georgia, Warnock wants voters to make a local choice rather than a national referendum on Democrats as a whole. Georgia’s first black U.S. senator, Warnock is portrayed as a pragmatist who makes deals with Republicans when they want them and pushes Democratic-backed cost-cutting measures when they don’t. Among the top accomplishments Warnock touts: curbing insulin and other drug costs for Medicare recipients. “I will work with anyone to get things done for the people of Georgia,” Warnock said. Walker, meanwhile, denies ever paying for an abortion. And revealing a host of other stories — documented exaggerations of his business background, academic achievements and philanthropic activities. Publicly acknowledging three additional children during the campaign only after media reports of their existence — Walker touts his Christian faith and says his life is a story of “redemption.” Through what he calls “stupid” scrutiny, the Republican nominee has campaigned as a cultural and fiscal conservative. Walker, who is also Black, pledged to “bring people together” while framing Warnock as a divisive figure on issues of race and equality. Walker justifies his attack by using excerpts from Warnock’s sermons in which the pastor-senator discusses institutional racism. Republicans used similar tactics against Warnock before his runoff victory on January 5, 2021. Warnock won that race by about 95,000 votes out of a total of 4.5 million voters. The dynamics of the runoff this year will vary widely depending on the composition of the Senate. If the Senate majority is already settled, it could make it easier for Warnock to frame the race as a local choice between himself and Walker. But if the Georgia outcome determines which party holds the majority and sets the agenda, Walker could have the upper hand in his bid to connect Warnock with Biden and national Democrats. Nearly half of Georgia voters say the economy is the most pressing issue facing the country, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 3,000 voters in the state. Rising costs ranked as the top concern of state voters as they went to the polls, with about 9 in 10 saying inflated prices for groceries, gas and other goods were a major factor in their votes this election. Only 1 in 10 Georgia voters identify the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strip women of their constitutional right to abortion as the most important issue facing the country, while nearly 5 in 10 identify the economy and jobs. But abortion still weighed on how many people voted. About 7 in 10 Georgians say it is an important factor in how they voted. Georgia voters were more likely to say Warnock has the experience to serve effectively in the Senate than Walker, according to the AP Vote Cast. Nearly 6 in 10 voters said Warnock has the right background to serve as a senator. Only about 4 in 10 said the same about Walker, a Georgia football icon. State voters were also more likely to say Warnock has strong moral values, with about half of voters saying this of the senator. About 4 in 10 voters said the same about Walker.
Associated Press reporters Jeff Amy and Stephen Smith contributed to this story. Amanda Seitz contributed from Washington.
