US Midterms 2022: Democrat Raphael Warnock has slight lead on Herschel Walker in Georgia Senate race

All eyes are on Georgia where Republican ex-NFL star Herschel Walker currently holds a slight edge over Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock

At 9:50 p.m., nearly three hours after polls closed and with 66 percent of precincts reporting, Walker was leading by 5.2 percent, 48.6 to 48.5 percent. 

While most of the state’s map looked red, densely populated areas around Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta and Athens trended blue. 

If neither candidate breaches the 50 percent threshold, the race heads to a December 6 runoff, per Georgia’s election law. A third-party Libertarian prevented either candidate from cinching a majority. 

Pre-election polling had Walker running slightly above Warnock – an average of 1.4 points, according to Real Clear Politics. 

And despite Warnock’s early lead, confidence remained high at the Walker election watch party at the Omni at the Battery in Atlanta, as supporters talked, laughed and drank the night away. The Walker campaign rented out the Omni ballroom until 2 a.m., expecting a long night of vote counting. 

The race has become one of the most hotly contested in the country, attracting a quarter billion dollars in campaign funding to saturate the airwaves in the run-up to Election Day. 

Senator Raphael Warnock to serve his first full term after become a Georgia senator in a special election. He is facing-off with Trump-backed GOP candidate and former NFL star Herschel Walker (right)

Both parties had bet their path to victory would be through the Peach State, one of a number of toss-up races that will determine the fate of the Senate.  

Walker, ex-University of Georgia football star and Heisman winner, was initially one of the political newcomers establishment Republicans shied away from, given his dicey history that includes accusations that he threatened to kill his ex-wife. 

But when Trump swept in and endorsed him, Walker easily topped a handful off rivals. He’s since staved off a number of 11th hour controversies, including accusations from two women who said pro-life Walker pressured them to get and paid for abortions. 

Warnock, an Atlanta pastor, for his part, was vying for his first full term after beating out Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a special election in 2020. 

In Georgia’s gubernatorial election, with 67 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Brian Kemp was leading over Democratic voting rights activist Stacey Abrams in a rematch from their 2018 race, 53.8 to 45.6 percent. 

Kemp, who unlike Walker was not backed by Trump due to his defense of Georgia’s 2020 election results showing Trump lost, had been outspent by Abrams – $98 million to $69 million, according to documents filed with the state election commission. 

Walker actively denied the abortion allegations, and attributed the accusations of domestic violence to mental illness that he says he has now recovered from. 

Early voting has already broken records in the Peach State as each candidate hones in on their closing message. For Walker, that means tying his opponent to President Biden, who has a low approval rating in the state. For Warnock, it means framing his efforts in the Senate through a focus on cutting costs and vowing to ‘work with anyone if it helps Georgia.’ It also means ramping up his attacks on his controversy-mired opponent’s character. 

‘You went to Washington to say you gonna represent Georgia and you decide to represent Joe Biden,’ Walker said of Warnock at a rally last Thursday. ‘You went to Washington and say you gonna represent the people but yet you voted with him 96% of the time.’

Meanwhile, Warnock told reporters at a recent campaign stop: ‘Character matters. And this is somebody who has demonstrated that not only is he not ready for the job, he’s not fit.’ 

 ‘I don’t know why he wants this job,’ Warnock told reporters during an Election Day press conference. ‘Herschel Walker cannot represent my mother.’