ATLANTA, Ga.—The hotly contested Senate race in Georgia is without a winner as of early morning on Nov. 9, with Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) and Republican challenger Herschel Walker locked in a close contest, potentially moving the race to a Dec. 6 runoff.
As of press time, Warnack has picked up about 1.92 million votes, or 49.3 percent, compared to Walker’s roughly 1.89 million votes, or 48.6 percent, according to Decision Desk HQ. About 99 percent of the votes in Georgia have been counted.
Warnock has remained confident about winning the race. Writing on Twitter at around 2:45 a.m. ET, the incumbent said he will have more votes than his opponent.
If neither Walker nor Warnock surpasses the 50 percent threshold, they will head to a runoff on Dec. 6.
A Hotly-Contested Race
Warnock won the seat in 2020 in a runoff election.Warnock, a pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, rose to political prominence after conducting activism for Medicaid. When former Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) resigned due to illness, Warnock won the empty seat in a special election.
Walker, a football star, entered politics when former president Donald Trump placed him on the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. Trump then suggested that Walker run for Senate in Georgia.
Warnock ran on a mostly moderate Democratic platform with a few policies representative of Georgia: government money for farmers, a higher minimum wage, funding for police, fewer prisoners, infrastructure spending, expanded Medicaid, a strong military, immigration reform, increased domestic manufacturing, bipartisanship, and support for abortion.
He also supported several more radical policies, including making sexual orientation and gender identity a protected federal discrimination category, creating “gender-inclusive policies,” and allowing transgenderism in the army.
Walker ran on a typical conservative Republican platform: pro-life, pro-secure border, pro-Second Amendment, pro-tax cuts, pro-oil production, pro-military spending, and pro-parental rights.
On May 18, he said he believed the 2020 election had “problems.” But in a recent debate with Warnock, he announced he accepted President Joe Biden’s victory.
Surrounded by Scandal
Both candidates have gotten this far in a race splattered by scandal.On Warnock’s end, controversies include his recently-divorced wife claiming he drove over her foot in an argument, allegedly using campaign funds for a personal lawsuit and child care, and interfering with a child abuse investigation at a church camp, according to police reports.
Walker, for his part, has been accused by a former girlfriend of paying for an abortion, and by another ex-girlfriend of pressuring her to get an abortion.
Voters appeared to care little about these scandals after the primary, as reported previously by the Epoch Times.
“I think at the end of the day, people will make their decision based on what matters the most to them. You’ve got to choose the lesser of two evils,” said Edwin Beckles, a pastor whose church hosted a campaign event for Warnock.
Beckles said he believed his congregation would choose their preferred candidates based on the policies they advocate. He added that he was neutral on the candidates and would have been willing to host an event for Walker.
Early voting played a significant part in the race, with over 2 million early votes cast.
