Voting Starts in Georgia’s Senate Runoff Election After Court Battle

L: Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) in Columbus, Ga., on Oct. 8, 2022. (Megan Varner/Getty Images); R: Georgia Republican Senatorial candidate Herschel Walker in Carrollton, Ga., on Oct. 11, 2022. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Early voting in Georgia’s Senate runoff election started on Nov. 26 following a ruling issued by the state’s highest court to determine whether Democrats can expand their majority in the upper chamber.

A top Georgia election official, Gabriel Sterling, wrote that 69,297 people voted on Nov. 26, the first day of early voting for the Dec. 6 election between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Republican candidate Herschel Walker. Sterling, who drew criticism for his claims following the 2020 election, noted that the second day of voter turnout will top 100,000.

“We will break 6 figures in voting today cumulatively, and likely may already have,” he wrote on Twitter on Nov. 27.

Last week, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled in favor of Democrats and Warnock in allowing early voting to start on Nov. 26. Officials in the Georgia Secretary of State’s office had attempted to implement a rule to prevent early voting on Nov. 26, which came after Thanksgiving on Nov. 24 and a state holiday on Nov. 25.

The runoff was triggered after the first round of voting on Nov. 8 in which neither Walker, a former NFL running back, nor Warnock received more than 50 percent of the vote. Warnock was ahead of Walker by about 37,000 votes out of 4 million during the Nov. 8 contest.

The Libertarian Party candidate, Chase Oliver, garnered about 2 percent of the vote—roughly 81,000 votes—and was a distant No. 3 behind Warnock and Walker. In the Dec. 6 runoff, Oliver won’t be included.

Neither President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump opted to campaign for either Warnock or Walker, respectively, in Georgia ahead of the runoff. However, it was announced that former President Barack Obama would campaign in favor of Warnock, while several top Republicans, including Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), have attended events to boost Walker.

Filings with the Federal Election Commission earlier this month show that Warnock has significantly more campaign cash than Walker, according to reports. As of Nov. 16, Warnock had $29 million on hand, while Walker had about $10 million.

Regardless of the outcome next month, Democrats will still have a majority in the Senate after netting 50 seats after Republican candidate Adam Laxalt conceded to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) on Nov. 15 in the race for Nevada’s open Senate seat. All Democrats need are 50 seats because Vice President Kamala Harris can serve as the tie-breaker.

Stakes are still high because a Warnock victory would provide Democrats with a majority outright and would give the party a majority on committees. That would, in part, allow them to advance Biden’s judicial nominees more quickly.

The U.S. Capitol is seen on Capitol Hill on Aug. 6, 2022. Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on Nov. 23 that the Republican Party has “a second chance in Georgia to get it right.”

“Fifty is better than 49, and we’re going to give it everything we’ve got,” he said.

A victory by Warnock would mean that Democrats could lose the support of one member of the caucus and still obtain floor votes. However, the party will still have to contend with Republicans having a majority in the House of Representatives.

During this election cycle, Republicans were defending 21 Senate seats, as compared with Democrats’ 15. In the 2024 elections, Democrats will be defending 21 seats to the Republicans’ 10.

Two of those seats are in Republican-leaning states West Virginia and Montana. Another five are in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Arizona, all of which will be in play during the presidential election. Given the chamber’s narrow divide, the Georgia seat could be a needed bulwark.

Campaign

Both candidates have been heavily campaigning across the state since the midterm elections ended. Walker took out an advertisement that criticized Warnock for voting against an amendment that would block biological males from competing in women’s sports.

“Warnock’s afraid to stand up for female athletes,” Walker said in the ad alongside Riley Gaines, a female swimmer who competed against biologically male swimmer Lia Thomas.

Last week, Warnock said Walker isn’t qualified to be a senator.

“That brother could razzle dazzle you on that football field,” the Democrat senator told a crowd in Wrightsville, referring to Walker. “But tonight, we’re on a different field. And the people of Georgia need a true champion.”

Georgia’s Supreme Court issued a unanimous, one-sentence ruling (pdf) on Nov. 23 to uphold a lower court decision that blocked Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s directive to prohibit counties from voting on Nov. 26. The court didn’t provide an explanation for its decision.

The Georgia Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Republican National Committee filed a petition with the state’s highest court and asked it to issue an emergency stay of the lower court’s ruling. Early, in-person voting ends on Dec. 2 or about four days before the runoff election.

Warnock was elected to the Senate in early 2021 to fill the remaining two years of former Sen. Johnny Isakson’s (R-Ga.) term after he resigned at the end of 2019 for health reasons.

Reuters contributed to this report.