WASHINGTON — Polls are closing soon in the Senate runoff election in Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is hoping to fend off a challenge from Republican Herschel Walker.
Voters faced rain and some long lines as both parties worked to drive people to the polls for the second time in as many months for the runoff, which was triggered by state law because neither candidate won an outright majority in the November election.
Democrats are feeling confident about their chances thanks to a massive spending advantage and because more Democrats opted to vote early. A record-breaking 1.85 million ballots have already been cast.
While the races decided in November assured that Democrats will retain control of the Senate next year, a Warnock victory would allow the party to exert more control over the chamber than the current 50-50 divide, which only gives Democrats power thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris casing tie-breaking votes.
Walker, who is backed by former President Donald Trump and was a star running back for the University of Georgia and in the NFL, has been dragged down by mounting scandals and a sense of pessimism about his campaign.
Warnock, who for years was the pastor at Martin Luther King Jr.’s former church, has tried to reach swing voters by portraying the race as not as a contest between Republicans and Democrats, but about “right versus wrong,” as he said in an interview with MSNBC’s Joy Reid Monday.
Still, Georgia has been a reliably red state until just two years ago, when it voted for President Joe Biden and then elected Warnock and fellow Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in twin runoff elections.
Walker has warned Republicans that they need to turn out to stop national Democrats from gaining more power. “If you don’t vote, you’re going to get more of Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden,” he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Monday night.
source: NBC News
