Reverend Raphael Warnock won re-election in the Georgia runoff, giving the Democratic Party full control of the Senate. Decision Desk HQ and NBC News projected Warnock’s victory a few hours after polling stations closed on Tuesday night.
Warnock’s loss to opponent Herschel Walker ends a midterms cycle in which Democrats have dramatically exceeded expectations. It’s also another loss for a far-right candidate who has been closely allied with Donald Trump.
According to Georgian law, a run-off election is required if no candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes.
In the final two years of President Biden’s term, the two major parties will share control of Congress. The Republican Party narrowly recaptured the House of Representatives, and the Democrats increased their Senate majority from 50 seats to 51. aces Teen Vogue Columnist Jameelah Nasheed noted that having that extra seat is very important.
It diminishes the outsized power of conservative Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), who has repeatedly been the lone stand-out on important legislation. It will make it easier for Biden to continue appointing judges to federal courts. And it offers some cushioning for Democrats in 2024 if they face a tough map. (You will defend 23 of the 33 Senate seats up for election this year).
Warnock held a consistent lead over Walker in polls from the race. The competition was the most expensive of 2022, According to OpenSecrets, and one of the most expensive Senate races of all time. The runoff also saw record-breaking early voting, according to CBS News. That’s notable because a new election law passed by Georgia’s Republican-controlled government is dramatically changing the way the state’s runoff elections are conducted. It shortens the time frame between the general election and the deadline, gives organizers less time to cast the ballot, and reduces the number of required in-person voting days and drop boxes statewide.
Despite these restrictions, youth organizers helped increase turnout in the runoff elections. As Bryce Berry, President of the Young Democrats of Georgia, said Teen Vogue“We organize voter suppression, but we shouldn’t have to.”
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