Georgia senate runoff election December 6
Raphael Warnock, alongside former Obama secretary Ken Salazar, visits a Dr. Martin Luther King historic site. Raphael Warnock goes up against his opponent Hershel Walker once more in the 2022 Georgia Senate runoff to finally decide who fills the senate seat.
December 5, 2022
The Georgia Senate runoff election takes place tomorrow, December 6. Because of the election results in the 2022 election being mixed, possibly due to bad candidates and even worse strategic decisions by party leaders, and neither candidate getting more than 50% of the vote needed, Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker are once again competing for Georgia’s second senate seat.
While the runoff election will not be deciding which party has control of the senate this time around, it will be deciding just how much more powerful Democrats become. A 51-seat majority means that Democrats are no longer restricted by West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and can afford to lose a senator while being able to pass bills.
A Democrat majority would also speed up the process of other senatorial duties, such as approving appointed Biden nominees. It would also give Democrats the majority in every legislative committee, which is important for moving bills from the discussion process to the actual voting process.
Democrat mega-donors have poured twice as much money into the race as Republicans, spending over $50 million on advertising compared to only $25 million for Walker. A key part of the lack of Republican funding stems from a drop in support from the Senate Leadership Fund, which some Republicans blame for the disappointing amount of Republican midterm victories in the 2022 elections.
A historic number of votes have already been cast through early voting. An increase of more than 75,000 voters have turned out through early voting than in the original election. 1.8 million votes have already been cast.
Polling reflects that Warnock has a lead over Walker heading into the election, and the increased amount of early votes supports that Warnock has a strong chance of winning, as Democrats usually lead in early vote ballots. Walker needs a historic election day turnout, which is usually slanted towards Republicans, in order to combat the record-breaking early voting.
Anyone who was eligible to vote in the original November election is automatically eligible to vote in the runoff election. Polling places will be open on Election Day from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Mail-in ballots will be accepted if postmarked by 7 p.m.
