Raphael Warnock wins Georgia runoff, growing Democrats’ Senate majority - The Washington Post

Warnock’s triumph gave Democrats their 51st Senate spot — handing them much leverage successful a enclosure that for 2 years has been evenly split, with Vice President Harris empowered to interruption ties and 2 swing-vote Democrats capable to marque oregon interruption their party’s plans.

The effect besides capped a disappointing midterm rhythm for Republicans, who expected a reddish question but fell abbreviated of retaking the Senate and reclaimed the House bulk by a borderline of conscionable a fewer seats. Walker, a first-time campaigner ridiculed for gaffes, accused of superior misconduct and elevated by erstwhile president Donald Trump, exemplified broader Republican concerns that their nominees — and Trump — undermined their chances. His nonaccomplishment spurred much calls to rethink the party’s absorption and strategy.

With much than 97 percent of the ballot counted Tuesday night, Warnock led Walker by astir 2.5 percent points. An estimated 3.5 million radical voted successful the runoff, somewhat down from the 3.9 cardinal ballots formed successful the wide election.

The DJ astatine Warnock’s predetermination nighttime enactment played “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled close aft CNN posted that Warnock was projected to win. Declaring triumph precocious Tuesday, Warnock said helium was honored to “utter the 4 astir almighty words ever spoken successful a democracy” — “the radical person spoken.”

“I’m arrogant of the bipartisan enactment I’ve done,” helium said, “and I mean to bash much due to the fact that I really judge that astatine the extremity of the day, we’re each Americans.”

Walker’s supporters gathered successful a supplication ellipse astatine the College Football Hall of Fame successful Atlanta arsenic media outlets began to telephone the race. Conceding Tuesday night, Walker said helium would not beryllium making excuses for his nonaccomplishment due to the fact that “we enactment retired 1 heck of a fight.” Throughout the campaign, he criticized the incumbent arsenic a reliable ballot for President Biden’s docket and said helium would cheque Democrats’ powerfulness successful Washington and correspond “Georgia values.”

Warnock campaigned connected Democratic priorities specified arsenic authorities to headdress cause prices and appealed straight to independents and mean Republicans, calling Walker unfit for nationalist bureau and saying the contention should travel down to “character and competence.” He besides promised to enactment abortion access, arsenic his hostile embraced strict bans that took effect successful Georgia and different states aft the autumn of Roe v. Wade — mounting up a stark opposition connected an contented that helped galvanize Democrats nationally successful an different daunting predetermination year.

Kyle Cartledge, an independent, said helium backed Warnock due to the fact that Walker’s gaffes and the Supreme Court’s determination overturning Roe alienated him from Republicans this year.

“I privation we had much of a middle, but we don’t look to person 1 these days,” said William Shank, who voted for Walker but said helium was unenthused astir his options.

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Warnock would service arsenic “the past ceramic successful our firewall” against GOP threats to democracy.

Both parties ever expected a adjacent contention and lined up colossal resources, with candidates and extracurricular groups spending a combined $380 cardinal connected ads for the spot passim the predetermination cycle. The campaigns focused heavy connected in-person get-out-the-vote efforts during the runoff, saying the effect would hinge connected each candidate’s quality to crook retired their basal a 2nd time.

Republicans hoped that vexation with Biden and the system would stay almighty motivators and enlisted surrogates for Walker, including Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who had kept a region from the Senate nominee during his ain reelection fight.

But arsenic Tuesday neared, immoderate expressed growing doubts astir Walker’s quality to bring retired a winning conjugation without much fashionable Republicans specified arsenic Kemp connected the ballot. The GOP’s challenges lone seemed to compound successful the runoff, with Republicans feuding openly and Democrats increasing their spending advantage.

Outside groups helped Walker effort to drawback up to Warnock’s record-breaking fundraising successful the wide predetermination and invested much the past 4 weeks. But Democrats yet spent astir doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic Republicans connected ads successful the runoff, pumping astir $60 cardinal much into the race.

While Democrats entered the runoff with the Senate bulk successful hand, a 51st spot volition inactive person big consequences. Democrats are present expected to get a one-seat bulk connected committees, which are presently evenly divided nether a power-sharing statement with Republicans. That volition velocity up the confirmation process for judicial and enforcement nominees by averting tied votes and springiness Democrats much leverage successful oversight hearings.

Another spot volition besides let Democrats much country to corroborate appointees and walk bills implicit objections from wrong their caucus. Two mean senators, Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), presently wield tremendous powerfulness to reshape oregon scuttle legislation. And it boosts Democrats’ presumption heading into an ominous 2024 Senate map, wherever they volition person to support galore susceptible incumbents and person tougher likelihood for a pickup.

Warnock’s triumph marks the archetypal clip successful much than a period that each incumbent senators were reelected, and the archetypal clip since 1934 that a president’s enactment gained some Senate and governor’s seats successful a midterm. Democrats won 2 much governorships this cycle.

Karen Schultz, 66, said she astir didn’t travel retired to ballot fixed the rainfall and foggy upwind successful the metro Atlanta area. But “I felt truthful blameworthy and I told my husband, ‘We conscionable person to spell vote. We person to bash our part,’” she said.

Republicans did good successful Georgia past period contempt their nationalist shortfalls; Kemp won handily successful a rematch with Democrat Stacey Abrams. Yet Walker got astir 200,000 less votes than Kemp, becoming the lone statewide GOP campaigner not victorious connected Nov. 8. Warnock ran astir 1 percent constituent up of Walker successful the wide predetermination but fell abbreviated of the 50 percent required to triumph outright successful Georgia.

Walker gave his last rally successful Kennesaw, Ga., flanked by GOP leaders including Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who called his contention a “critical spot that volition let america to halt Joe Biden and the Warnock disastrous docket that is sidesplitting our country.”

Speaking astatine the aforesaid event, erstwhile South Carolina politician Nikki Haley called the runoff an accidental for Republicans to amusement that the state’s caller predetermination of Biden and 2 Democratic senators was a “hiccup.”

In an interrogation Tuesday night, Dianne Putnam, the seat of the Whitfield County Republican Party, insisted that Georgia remains “a reddish state.”

“The radical conscionable didn’t ballot consecutive down similar they should person and that’s usually what Republicans do,” she said of Walker trailing Kemp successful November. “I don’t recognize that, I truly don’t. It’s a enigma to me.”

Ben Burnett, a blimpish podcast big and erstwhile metropolis councilman successful a suburb of Atlanta, echoed calls for the GOP to instrumentality a hard look astatine its strategy. “Winning successful the suburbs needs to beryllium the archetypal question that the GOP asks, not the past question that we ne'er answer,” helium said.

With astir 2 cardinal ballots formed earlier Tuesday, the runoff stoked progressively vocal GOP concerns astir their party’s reliance connected a large turnout Tuesday implicit aboriginal voting. Democrats were buoyed by precocious Black elector turnout past week and said they believed they had the GOP outmatched connected the ground, contempt Republican investments to repurpose Kemp’s get-out-the-vote cognition the past month.

Warnock, the elder pastor astatine Ebenezer Baptist Church — wherever the Rev. Martin Luther King erstwhile preached — volition present service a full, six-year term. Last year, helium won a peculiar predetermination to regenerate Republican Johnny Isakson, who stepped down implicit wellness concerns, and became Georgia’s archetypal Black senator.

He and chap legislator from Georgia, Jon Ossoff (D), some prevailed successful a January 2021 runoff that gave Democrats power of the Senate and underscored the state’s shifting governmental identity. In 2020, Biden was the archetypal Democratic statesmanlike campaigner to triumph the traditionally blimpish authorities since Bill Clinton successful 1992.

Some Republicans blamed Trump for undermining their party’s chances successful the runoff by focusing connected his ain nonaccomplishment successful the lead-up, pressuring Georgia officials to overturn the results and spreading GOP distrust of the voting system.

Trump besides loomed implicit the 2022 midterms, often boosting inexperienced oregon polarizing candidates to superior victories successful battleground races. He endorsed Walker but stayed distant from Georgia during the wide election.

“It’s not his clip to travel — not his clip and spot close now,” Fulton County Republican Party Chairman Trey Kelly said of Trump connected Tuesday evening.

Trump and Walker’s teams agreed the erstwhile president’s beingness would not beryllium adjuvant during the runoff, according to Trump advisers who spoke connected the information of anonymity to stock backstage conversations. Walker did not advertise a Monday tele-rally with Trump connected societal media oregon let reporters to attend. He did tout the endorsement of different Republican connected Facebook that aforesaid time — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, an progressively formidable rival to Trump who could situation him for the presidency successful 2024.

Biden besides avoided campaigning successful Georgia, arsenic Republicans emphasized that Warnock has voted with the president 96 percent of the clip and sought to harness wide dissatisfaction with the absorption of the country.

While some Senate candidates attacked each other’s character, allegations from Walker’s past dominated the race. Ex-partners of Walker accused him of home violence, said helium had small interaction with his children and alleged that helium paid for their abortions contempt his antiabortion views. One of Walker’s sons, who is conservative, harshly criticized Walker this autumn and responded scathingly to the result connected Tuesday, tweeting, “Don’t bushed women … money abortions past unreal [you’re] pro-life ... permission your aggregate insignificant children unsocial to pursuit much fame, prevarication … And past possibly you tin triumph a legislature seat.”

Walker has spoken openly astir a conflict with dissociative individuality disorder, and allies pitched him connected the way arsenic a devout Christian who has been redeemed for past mistakes. The GOP nominee denied the termination claims and immoderate allegations of violence, portion saying helium cannot retrieve different incidents.

Democrats worked to item Walker’s astir puzzling comments from the run trail, including a riff astir vampires and werewolves, releasing 1 runoff advertisement that featured voters listening to dependable bites and calling the campaigner embarrassing.

Republicans defended Walker’s idiosyncratic grounds portion leaning into his personage presumption arsenic a erstwhile moving backmost astatine the University of Georgia. They said Warnock was not the “saint” Democrats portrayed, broadcasting allegations from Warnock’s ex-wife that helium ran implicit her ft with a car during an argument. Warnock denies the claim, and instrumentality enforcement did not record charges.

Knowles reported from Washington. Rodriguez reported from Atlanta and Norcross, Ga. Wells reported from Marietta, Ga, and Atlanta. Amy B Wang, Liz Goodwin and Scott Clement successful Washington contributed to this report.