Live updates Georgia Senate runoff: Polls close in tight race to see if Walker can oust Warnock - CNBC

Polls person closed astatine 7 p.m. ET successful Georgia Senate runoff, 12 hours aft they opened for in-person voting — and astir 1 period aft Warnock and Walker archetypal locked horns successful the wide midterm elections.

While voters astatine immoderate polling sites faced lengthy waits successful line, authorities predetermination officials reported that mean hold times were brief, with astir radical waiting conscionable a fewer minutes to formed their ballots.

They besides noted that if voters are successful enactment by 7 p.m. ET, they are allowed to formed their ballots.

— Kevin Breuninger

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock's run maintained a robust beingness connected Twitter arsenic voters went to the polls, posting much than 2 twelve archetypal tweets earlier polls closed crossed Georgia.

Warnock's beardown societal media beingness stood successful stark opposition to Republican Herschel Walker, whose run did not look to person posted immoderate archetypal tweets arsenic of 5:30 p.m. connected voting day.

While Walker did not station thing original, his run retweeted respective supportive messages from different Republicans, including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

Walker has drawn disapproval from Republicans during his runoff run for maintaining an unconventional run schedule, disappearing for much than a week implicit Thanksgiving and refusing to talk to reporters astatine events.

— Christina Wilkie

More than 1 cardinal voters are expected to formed their ballots connected Tuesday successful Georgia's Senate runoff, according to the main operating serviceman for the caput of state.

As of 2 p.m. ET, astir 800,000 votes had already been logged, Gabriel Sterling told reporters astatine a property conference.

"We are seeing nary lines and beauteous sizable turnout," helium said.

Tuesday's ballots volition beryllium added to the astir 1.9 cardinal aboriginal and absentee votes that person already been cast.

— Christina Wilkie

Ye, the rapper erstwhile known arsenic Kanye West who has been broadly denounced implicit a drawstring of virulently anti-Semitic remarks, earlier Tuesday posted an representation of Herschel Walker on with a get-out-the-vote message.

"TeamHerschel.com/VOTE," work portion of Ye's station connected Instagram, a Meta-owned societal media level that had restricted his relationship aggregate times successful caller months.

Ye had expressed enactment for Walker days earlier during an interrogation with right-wing conspiracy media outlet Infowars connected Thursday. "Herschel Walker changed his beingness for Christ," Ye said, "and helium mightiness person had abortions but helium doesn't judge successful abortions."

That remark, a notation to reporting alleging Walker pushed astatine slightest 2 ex-lovers to person abortions, came successful an interrogation successful which Ye expressed praise for Nazis and Adolf Hitler.

Twitter suspended Ye soon aft the rapper tweeted an representation containing a swastika aboriginal that day.

Walker's run did not instantly respond to CNBC's petition for remark connected Ye's post.

— Kevin Breuninger

A ace PAC backed by erstwhile President Donald Trump has not invested a azygous cent into the Georgia Senate runoff, arsenic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock outspends Republican campaigner Herschel Walker successful the $84 cardinal race.

The pro-Trump PAC Make America Great Again Inc. was launched successful the buildup to Trump's Nov. 15 announcement of his 2024 tally for president. The PAC spent astatine least $681,000 supporting Walker successful the Georgia Senate wide predetermination but thing for today's contest, according to data from AdImpact and Federal Election Commission.

A spokesperson for the MAGA Inc. PAC did not instrumentality a petition for comment.

Democrats person outspent Republicans successful the runoff campaign. Warnock's run and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent $27 cardinal connected ads backing Warnock, AdImpact's information shows. Walker and the National Republican Senatorial Committee spent conscionable implicit $11 cardinal connected the runoff race.

Warnock's run had astir 3 times arsenic overmuch currency connected manus arsenic Walker's successful the runup to Georgia's runoff election.

Other Democratic groups spent an further $30 cardinal connected the runoff portion different Republican organizations enactment up an other $15.8 cardinal heading into Tuesday.

— Brian Schwartz

Democratic advertisers dominated Georgia's airwaves successful the run-up to the runoff, outspending Republican advertisers by much than a 2-to-1 margin, according to information from AdImpact.

Democratic advertisers spent $57.2 cardinal successful the runoff period, versus $27.3 cardinal from GOP advertisers. That's a overmuch wider spread than successful Georgia's wide election, erstwhile the percent of advertisement spending was divided much evenly betwixt the 2 parties' advertizing groups.

Party-issue groups' spending besides flipped betwixt the Georgia wide midterm predetermination and the runoff, according to AdImpact: GOP groups made up much than 58% of advertisement spending for the state's wide election, but conscionable 35% of advertisement spending successful the runoff.

AdImpact noted that MAGA Inc., a radical backed by erstwhile President Donald Trump that bought ads for the Nov. 8 Senate race successful Georgia, spent thing successful the authorities during the runoff.

— Kevin Breuninger

The Department of Justice said it volition show Georgia's Senate runoff predetermination successful 4 counties to guarantee compliance with national voting rights laws.

The national unit volition beryllium contiguous successful Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County and Macon-Bibb County, according to a DOJ property release.

The DOJ has been monitoring elections arsenic a standard signifier for decades to corroborate compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

But successful the November midterm elections past month, authorities officials from Missouri and Florida said they would block national officers from entering polling sites. DOJ predetermination monitors did not spell wrong polling places successful 2020 owed to the coronavirus pandemic.

The DOJ's announcement astir its activities successful the Georgia runoff included a nexus to a webpage wherever radical tin study imaginable violations of voting rights laws.

— Kevin Breuninger

Walker's run sought to contiguous him arsenic a world-class athlete, a palmy businessman, a faithful Christian and an inspirational fig who overcame adversity. But his Senate bid has been weighed down by a watercourse of gaffes and large scandals astir his idiosyncratic life.

Republicans circled the wagons astir the ex-NFL prima aft The Daily Beast and different quality outlets reported that Walker, who expressed staunchly anti-abortion views connected the run trail, had paid for an ex-girlfriend's termination years earlier. Walker denied the allegations, adjacent arsenic his big lad Christian Walker castigated his begetter connected societal media. Less than 2 weeks earlier the midterms, a 2nd pistillate came forward to assertion Walker had pushed her to get an abortion.

Walker's idiosyncratic beingness had already been nether scrutiny earlier those allegations came to light. Earlier successful the campaign, Walker had acknowledged fathering aggregate different children who were not antecedently known to beryllium related to him. The Senate bid has besides raised questions astir Walker's intelligence health, and accusations by Walker's ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, resurfaced that helium had been abusive and threatening toward her.

Claims astir Walker kept coming successful the runoff campaign: Last week, The Daily Beast reported allegations by Cheryl Parsa, an ex-girlfriend of Walker's, accusing the Senate campaigner of convulsive behaviour and infidelity.

— Kevin Breuninger

Georgia voters are casting ballots without overmuch delay, according to Gabriel Sterling, the main of operations for Georgia's caput of state.

"We are down to a hold clip of infinitesimal and 25 seconds," Sterling tweeted astir 9:30 a.m. ET.

Two hours aft polls opened, turnout astatine the state's 2,400 polling locations had exceeded 250,000 votes cast, Sterling tweeted astatine the time.

"Steady turnout," Sterling said.

— Kevin Breuninger

Once a reliably reddish authorities successful nationalist elections, Georgia has emerged successful caller cycles arsenic 1 of the astir important and competitory plaything states successful the U.S.

The Peach State has skewed Republican for decades, but it narrowly sided with President Joe Biden implicit erstwhile President Donald Trump in 2020, past elected 2 Democrats to the U.S. Senate. Those victories gave Democrats a razor-thin Senate majority, which went connected to enact large pieces of Biden's legislative agenda.

Warnock won his spot successful a runoff astir 2 years ago in a Jan. 2021 peculiar predetermination against GOP contender Kelly Loeffler. Georgia's different Senate spot went to Democrat Jon Ossoff implicit Republican David Perdue in a abstracted runoff that aforesaid day.

The high-profile contention betwixt Warnock and Walker went to a runoff aft nary campaigner won much than 50% of the ballot successful the November wide election. While Warnock got much votes than Walker, third-party campaigner Chase Oliver, a Libertarian, secured conscionable implicit 2% of the vote, keeping either of the 2 main contenders from clinching a majority, according to NBC News' count.

— Kevin Breuninger

The early-voting play earlier the runoff predetermination broke records, with the last time Friday notching the "single biggest time of aboriginal voting ever," authorities predetermination officials proclaimed.

More than 353,000 voters formed ballots successful idiosyncratic connected that day, state information show, crushing records acceptable earlier successful the week. Georgia's erstwhile one-day grounds for aboriginal voting was astir 233,000 votes, according to Gabriel Sterling, main operating serviceman for the Georgia Secretary of State.

But full early-voter turnout was inactive down from the anterior Senate runoff successful Georgia, information show. About 1.87 cardinal aboriginal votes were formed successful the runoff betwixt Warnock and Walker, down from the 3.1 cardinal votes formed successful Georgia up of past year's runoffs.

That could beryllium due to the fact that voters successful the existent runoff predetermination had less days to formed their ballots — astir 1 week, compared with the astir 3 weeks offered successful the anterior cycle. The condensed docket came aft Georgia's GOP-led legislature passed a sweeping 2021 predetermination law. It could person been narrowed further, but the Warnock campaign won a authorities lawsuit to let aboriginal voting connected the play aft Thanksgiving.

— Kevin Breuninger