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.
Latest headlines:
Inside Warnock headquarters as vote tallies come in
ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott, reporting from inside Warnock's headquarters on Tuesday night, said the energy in the room was like a "block party."
"The music somehow gets louder, you have a choir singing over my shoulder here," Scott told "ABC News Live Prime" anchor Linsey Davis.
"People in this room, I can tell you Linsey, they are feeling very confident," Scott later reported. "Just moments ago they said, 'We are almost across the finish line.' This race is still too close to call. Big picture, yes it is tight, but the campaign is keeping their eyes on some of those areas ... right around Atlanta where the votes are still being counted right now. They know that if they do well there and those Democratic-leaning areas, they're going to be on track to have a good night."
Where tallies stand in metro Atlanta
Amid the tight race so far, here's what percentage of the expected vote remains uncounted in several Democratic-leaning metro Atlanta counties:
DeKalb County: 35%
Fulton County: 33%
Cobb County: 15%
Gwinnett County: 10%
FiveThirtyEight analysis: What a Warnock win could signal for national Republicans
FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver gives an analysis of the potential Warnock victory: So if the trend here holds, Republicans are going to wind up not picking up even a single Democratic-held Senate seat. That’s pretty hard to do. Even in 1998 and 2002 (relatively bad midterms for the opposition party), they did pick up at least one Senate seat while others flipped in the other direction.
Walker loss would be 'indictment' against GOP, says Pence's former chief of staff
Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff, said Tuesday night as vote counting continued that while the race remained close, he expected outstanding ballots from Atlanta and suburban counties to favor Warnock.
"I would anticipate that you'll see Sen. Warnock widen his lead, which if that is the case, I think it's an incredible indictment against the Republican Party in Georgia because we'll have lost three Senate races within two years in a state where Joe Biden currently has a negative 18 approval rating," Short told "ABC News Live Prime" anchor Linsey Davis.
"I think it is an unfortunate circumstance for Republicans if it does unfold the way I anticipate it will over the last 24% of the vote," Short added.
Pressed on whether there should be a party "reckoning" over candidate quality -- an issue that plagued the GOP this cycle despite polling showing voters disproving of Democrats over inflation and crime - Short told Davis: "I think that reckoning is already happening, it began with the midterm results a month ago."
Watch more from Short's appearance on ABC News Live below.
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.