Warnock and Walker Head to Runoff in Georgia Senate Race - The New York Times

Politics|Warnock and Walker Head to Runoff successful Pivotal Georgia Senate Race

• Nov. 9, 2022Updated 5:35 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — The contention betwixt Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the Democratic incumbent, and his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, volition proceed into a December runoff election, The Associated Press said connected Wednesday, with neither campaigner clearing the 50 percent threshold to triumph outright.

The effect injects adjacent much uncertainty into a contention that some parties spot arsenic captious to deciding power of the U.S. Senate.

With much than 95 percent of ballots counted connected Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Warnock had 49.4 percent of the ballot to Mr. Walker’s 48.5 percent. About 35,000 votes separated the 2 candidates.

Mr. Walker, a governmental newcomer with important idiosyncratic baggage, ran a hyper-conservative run with thinly outlined argumentation plans and dense appeals to societal and taste issues.

Mr. Warnock, who is besides the elder pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church successful Atlanta, campaigned mostly connected his enactment implicit the past 2 years successful the Senate. He emphasized the authorities helium passed alongside Republican senators, and his party’s argumentation wins for low-income Georgians and those implicit property 65.

Both won their primaries easily.

Georgia’s caller predetermination instrumentality shortened the runoff play to 4 weeks, forcing campaigns to mobilize voters and coordinate events done Thanksgiving and the aboriginal weeks of the vacation season. That means Georgia voters volition proceed facing an onslaught of governmental ads implicit the adjacent period of campaigning, which is apt to bring much visits from high-profile figures successful some parties. The campaigns volition spell into overtime, moving to crook retired voters again aft 2 agelong and contentious predetermination cycles this year.

The contention volition besides support the spotlight connected 2 Black antheral candidates from antithetic backgrounds and governmental sensibilities. Mr. Walker is simply a erstwhile jock who has criticized Democrats, accusing them of using contention to disagreement “a large state afloat of generous people.”

Mr. Warnock present preaches from a pulpit erstwhile helmed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., wherever helium delivers messages astir systemic racism and has preached eulogies for Black victims of constabulary violence.

Mr. Warnock and allied Democratic groups spent millions of dollars successful advertizing to elevate allegations of home unit against Mr. Walker. The Democrats ran respective spots of Mr. Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, recounting instances successful which she said Mr. Walker became physically convulsive with her and threatened to extremity her life.

But those accusations did not derail Mr. Walker’s wide predetermination campaign, which was bolstered by unwavering enactment from Georgia’s staunch blimpish base. For conservatives who were acrophobic astir Mr. Walker’s past, a parade of visits from nationalist Republican figures, including Senators Rick Scott, Lindsey Graham and Ted Cruz, assured galore successful the enactment that Mr. Walker would be, supra each else, a reliable Republican ballot successful the U.S. Senate.

Mr. Walker besides repeatedly attempted to necktie Mr. Warnock to President Biden and nationalist Democrats connected issues similar the system and crime, suggesting that re-electing Mr. Warnock would lone worsen the country’s economical woes and marque Georgia’s cities little safe.