Georgia Senate runoff live updates: Warnock celebrates win, Walker admits defeat
The election was the final battle of the 2022 midterms.
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.
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What changes in Senate if Walker wins the seat
If Republican challenger Walker wins the Senate seat, the chamber would stay in its current power-sharing agreement.
A 50-50 split has meant Democrats can't afford a single dissenter, leaving them with little breathing room in passing legislation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has had to constantly corral his caucus, which spans from conservative Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., all the way to progressive independents like Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. That dynamic would continue should Walker win the seat.
The split also slows the process for procedures like moving judicial nominees out of committee for a full vote. Republicans can block Biden nominees in the Judiciary Committee, forcing an additional vote on the Senate floor.
Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott has alluded to that in pitching Walker to voters, saying he could help "block" the Democratic majoriry.-ABC News' Allison Pecorin
Polls now closed
Polls closed at 7 p.m. ET in the Georgia Senate runoff race.
State officials said Tuesday they anticipate record turnout for a midterm runoff, with more than 1.4 million votes possibly cast on Election Day, on top of the nearly 1.9 million early votes.
When to expect results after polls close
After Georgia’s polls close at 7 p.m. ET, counties can begin reporting their vote totals, according to a Georgia secretary of state spokesperson. These numbers will most likely be early vote and absentees at first, which were able to start being tabulated at 7 a.m. on Tuesday
“Counties move through reporting Election Day totals as quickly as they can. Steady pace is typically the norm,” spokesperson Robert said.
A look back at Walker and Warnock's campaign messages
Warnock, in his second consecutive runoff election in less than two years, has campaigned heavily in recent weeks on the theme of “character.”A reverend at Martin Luther King Jr.'s former church and Georgia’s first Black senator, Warnock also pitched himself to the battleground state's voters as a pragmatic, experienced leader.
“I’ll put my character up against Raphael Warnock any day,” Warnock told ABC News on Tuesday.
While Walker has waved off or simply ignored the controversies surrounding his campaign, some of the issues raised by them have become a part of his messaging to voters on mental health, his Christian faith and his path to "redemption."
Walker has also tried to paint Warnock as a “rubber stamp” for President Joe Biden, describing himself as a potential check on the administration, which is unpopular in Georgia.
Warnock, in response to Walker’s characterization of him, said he's worked with Republicans during his nearly two years in Washington.
"I am the 18th most bipartisan senator in the Senate. Period,” Warnock told ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott on Tuesday. “Now I know that’s an inconvenient fact for Mr. Walker. We also know that he’s allergic to facts, even the facts about his own life.”
Walker campaign decides to not address latest accusation of past domestic violence
In the final days of his Senate campaign, Walker declined to respond when asked on the trail about claims from an alleged former ex-girlfriend that he had a history of pathological lying, manipulation and violence.
On Thursday, during his first event following a report from The Daily Beast that included an interview with the woman, Cheryl Parsa, Walker delivered a standard stump speech without taking any questions from reporters.
After the rally, campaign staffers told ABC News they were not engaging with the Daily Beast story, contending that it was not gaining traction and that they were focused on winning the election.
On Sunday, NBC News aired an interview with Parsa, who has claimed Walker physically assaulted her during a five-year relationship. Parsa reiterated to NBC News an account she gave the Daily Beast about when Walker allegedly became violent, attacking her in 2005.
At a campaign event after the broadcast, the campaign again declined to comment.
Walker has previously denied accounts from other women that he paid for their abortions. He is running as a staunchly anti-abortion candidate.
"Democrats will say and do anything to hang on to power. Well, I'm Herschel Walker, and they picked the wrong Georgian to mess with. I'm not backing down the stakes are too high," Walker said in a statement in October.
Years before he ran for the Senate, while promoting a memoir about having dissociative identity disorder, he did not deny an account from ex-wife Cindy Grossman that he became violent during their marriage.