Ga. Senate runoff live updates: Warnock celebrates win, Walker admits defeat

The election was the final battle of the 2022 midterms.

ByAlexandra Hutzler, Tal Axelrod, Isabella Murray, Meredith Deliso, and Lalee Ibssa
Last Updated: December 27, 2022, 10:47 AM EST

Georgia's Senate runoff between Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker came to a close on Tuesday, with Warnock projected by ABC News to defeat Walker, after more than a year of campaigning, multiple controversies and record-breaking turnout.

While the race didn't determine control of the Senate, it did increase Democrats' power in the chamber -- where Vice President Kamala Harris currently has to break ties -- rather than see the Republicans win a 50th seat and create procedural obstacles.

Walker, a businessman and local football legend, and Warnock, a noted reverend in Atlanta, first faced off in November's general election. But neither got 50% of the vote as required by state law, leading to Tuesday's runoff after about a week of early voting.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news developed. All times Eastern.
Dec 06, 2022, 10:57 PM EST

Scenes from Election Day in Georgia

Georgia voters turned out to the polls in record numbers on Tuesday to cast their ballots in the Senate runoff election between Warnock and Walker.

Supporters of Reverend Raphael Warnock attend a election night party after polls closed for the U.S. midterm runoff elections between Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker in Atlanta, on Dec. 6, 2022.
Carlos Barria/Reuters

ABC News has projected that Warnock will win the runoff, making him Georgia’s first Black full-term senator. He has served in the seat since 2021, when he won a runoff against GOP incumbent Kelly Loeffler.

Photos showed supporters of both campaigns gathering to watch results come in.

Supporters of U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock attend an election night party after polls closed for the U.S. midterm runoff election, Dec. 6, 2022, in Atlanta, Ga.
Carlos Barria/Reuters

Supporters cheer during an election night watch party for Republican candidate Herschel Walker, on Dec. 6, 2022, in Atlanta.
Brynn Anderson/AP

Filmmaker Spike Lee rallied the crowd at an election night watch party for Warnock in Atlanta on Tuesday.

Director Spike Lee delivers remarks at an election night watch party for Sen. Raphael Warnock, Dec. 6, 2022, in Atlanta.
Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

Voters shattered turnout records this runoff election. Despite rainy weather in parts of the state, some 1.4 million people cast a ballot on Tuesday, according to state officials.

Local residents wait in line to cast their ballot during the runoff U.S. Senate election between Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker in Atlanta, on Dec. 6, 2022.
Carlos Barria/Reuters

Election workers unload ballots as they arrive from precincts at the Cobb County Elections and Registration Center, Dec. 6, 2022, in Marietta, Ga.
Cheney Orr/Reuters

Dec 06, 2022, 10:45 PM EST

How Warnock will make history again

Warnock is projected to make history yet again as the senator of Georgia.

In 2021, he became the first Black senator from Georgia after winning a runoff for a partial term.

With ABC News projecting him to win the Tuesday runoff against Walker, Warnock will become the first Black senator elected to a full six-year term in the state.

Sen. Raphael Warnock answers questions from the media after speaking during a pre-canvassing event on Dec. 6, 2022, in Norcross, Ga.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Either winner of the close race would have achieved that barrier-breaking feat.

Warnock became only the second Black senator elected from the South since the Reconstruction era, when he won last year's runoff against incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler.

Dec 06, 2022, 10:28 PM EST

Warnock projected to defeat Walker, expanding Democrats' Senate majority

Warnock has defeated Walker in Tuesday's runoff election in Georgia, ABC News projects.

Warnock's victory means Democrats will expand their majority in the chamber to 51 seats, compared to Republicans' 49.

The Georgia runoff was the final election of the 2022 midterms.

Dec 06, 2022, 10:22 PM EST

Biden says: 'We're going to win Georgia'

As he stepped off Air Force Once on Tuesday night, President Joe Biden was asked by a reporter to comment on the election in Georgia.

"We're going to win," he replied on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, after returning from a trip to Arizona.

“We’re going to win,” President Joe Biden replied to a reporter’s question on the Senate runoff election in Georgia as he stepped off Air Force One Tuesday night.
0:26

Biden: 'We're going to win Georgia'

“We’re going to win,” President Joe Biden replied to a reporter’s question on the Senate runoff election in Georgia as he stepped off Air Force One Tuesday night.
ABCNews.com

"We're going to win Georgia."

He then boarded his vehicle to drive back into Washington.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson

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