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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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's son Christian excoriates his father amid results

Walker’s son was quick to respond to his father’s projected loss in the election, implying that the number of controversies that arose throughout his campaign -- many of which Walker has denied or dismissed as political smears -- contributed to his defeat.

Christian Walker, a conservative social media personality, recently became openly critical of his dad. He denounced Herschel Walker in a series of social media posts and videos in early October after the candidate denied a Daily Beast report that he paid for an ex-girlfriend's abortion in 2009. Herschel Walker has campaigned for the Senate as an anti-abortion politician.

In a string of tweets Tuesday night, the younger Walker touched on many of scandals swirling around the candidate, including those related to abortion, allegations of past domestic violence and absentee parenting.

“Chase more fame, lie, lie, lie, say stupid crap, and make a fool of your family,” he wrote in one tweet.

“The Truth: Trump called my dad for months DEMANDING that he run. Everyone with a brain begged him: “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS. This is too dirty, you have an insane past… PLEASE DONT DO THIS,” Christian Walker continued..

Later, during an audio-only event on Twitter when he took questions about his thoughts of his father and the election, Christian Walker told ABC News it had been a while since they spoke but he didn't rule out a reconciliation at some point.

"It's hard because I'm angry right now. But you know, I need some time to breathe, I know, I'll say that," he said. "And honestly, the thing that I want most out of him is, at the end of the day, gosh, time flies, like I'm an adult. So I'm grown. I'm making money ... Go be the best dad."

Herschel Walker tweeted in October, in response to some of Christian Walker's criticisms. "I LOVE my son no matter what."

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie contributed to this report.