Sen. Raphael Warnock has once again kept Georgia blue in a special runoff Senate election.
The Democrat defeated Republican former football star Herschel Walker in Tuesdays runoff, giving Warnock a full six-year term following the other runoff election he won just last year. The 2021 election made Warnock the first Black senator elected to represent Georgia, and now, he’s the first to do so for a full term.
With 95% of results reported, Warnock had 50.73% of the vote to Walker’s 49.27%. Decision Desk HQ called the race for Warnock at 9:48 p.m. ET.
His win ensures Democrats will have 51 seats in the next Senate, maintaining control of that chamber despite the House of Representatives narrowly flipping to Republicans. The victory further underscores the surprising strength of Democrats performance in the midterm elections, which are typically punishing for the party in the White House.
It also adds fuel to criticisms of former president Donald Trump, who had endorsed Walker and whose picks for candidates in key races across the country largely flopped.