ATLANTA (AP) — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a runoff election in Georgia.
The victory by the state’s first Black senator ensures Democrats an outright 51-49 majority in the chamber for the rest of President Joe Biden’s term.
That means the party won’t have to negotiate a power-sharing deal with Republicans and Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be called on as much to break tie votes.
Warnock’s win solidifies Georgia’s place as a Deep South battleground: Voters here returned the Democrat to the Senate in the same cycle they reelected Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and chose an all-GOP slate of statewide constitutional officers.
