ATLANTA — Democrat Raphael G. Warnock on Tuesday was projected to win reelection to represent Georgia in the Senate, defeating Republican Herschel Walker in a tight runoff and expanding his party’s slim majority in the chamber.
It was a hard-fought victory for Democrats in an increasingly purple state that was central to the party’s gains last election cycle and is expected to be a key battleground in 2024. Rural turnout for Walker, 60, a former Georgia football star, was not enough to offset a strong Atlanta-area performance by Warnock, 53, a pastor at a historic church in the city.
Warnock’s win gave Democrats their 51st Senate seat — handing them more leverage in a chamber that for two years has been evenly split, with Vice President Harris empowered to break ties and two swing-vote Democrats able to make or break their party’s plans.
The result also capped a disappointing midterm cycle for Republicans, who expected a red wave but fell short of retaking the Senate and reclaimed the House majority by a margin of just a few seats. Walker, a first-time candidate ridiculed for gaffes, accused of serious misconduct and elevated by former president Donald Trump, exemplified broader Republican concerns that their nominees — and Trump — undermined their chances. His loss spurred more calls to rethink the party’s direction and strategy.
With more than 97 percent of the vote counted Tuesday night, Warnock led Walker by nearly 2.5 percentage points. An estimated 3.5 million people voted in the runoff, slightly down from the 3.9 million ballots cast in the general election.
The DJ at Warnock’s election night party played “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled right after CNN posted that Warnock was projected to win. Declaring victory late Tuesday, Warnock said he was honored to “utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy” — “the people have spoken.”
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