Herschel Walker, Donald Trump’s choice for Georgia’s Senate seat, came up short and lost the runoff race to Democrat Raphael Warnock.
Walker’s defeat in the runoff against incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock was the most recent in a long line of midterm election missteps for extremist candidates endorsed by former president Donald Trump, who announced his latest bid for the White House last month.
It gave Democrats a 51-49 Senate majority, denying Republicans the ability to obstruct key elements of Joe Biden’s agenda, particularly judicial appointments, for at least two years.
Around 11 p.m. ET, Walker delivered what amounted to a concession speech to a crowd gathered at his election watch party. “I’m not going to make any excuses because we put up one heck of a fight,” Walker said.
The outcome of Georgia’s protracted, bitterly competitive Senate race could have a significant impact on Congress, both for the remainder of President Joe Biden‘s first term and for the 2024 cycle, when Democrats face a difficult electoral map once again.
Voters in Georgia who supported Warnock said in poll after poll that Walker was unqualified for the Senate and that Trump’s support for the former football icon didn’t help his cause.
Walker ran at the request of the former president, who had attempted, with limited success, to install like-minded acolytes in Senate, House, and governorships across the country.
After neither Warnock nor Walker received more than 50% of the vote in the Nov. 8 general election, the Georgia Senate race went to a runoff. While Warnock received more votes than Walker, third-party Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver received just over 2% of the vote, preventing either of the two main contenders from clinching a majority, according to NBC News’ count.
However, only Warnock and Walker were on the ballot for the runoff, removing any potential coattail effect that Walker might have benefited from in November, when Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp was easily re-elected.
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