Conservatives had mixed reactions to Herschel Walker&#8217;s loss in Georgia&#8217;s U.S. Senate runoff race Tuesday night, with some blaming former President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> for pushing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/herschel-walker">Walker</a> to run and others faulting GOP leaders for not doing enough to help the onetime NFL great.
The runoff against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) was held after both candidates failed to reach the 50% threshold to win the seat outright during last month&#8217;s midterm elections. Warnock performed better this time around, improving his margin of victory from 40,000 votes to over 90,000.
“One of the things I said is when they call the race, I said those numbers don’t look like they’re going to add up,” Walker said in a concession speech. “I don’t want any of you to stop believing in America. I want you to believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and believe in our elected officials. Most of all, continue to pray for them.”
Reaction to the loss was mixed online with many blaming Trump, others blaming Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and some blaming Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
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Walker launched his campaign bid after Trump repeatedly urged him to get into the race, including in a public statement back in March 2021.
&#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t it be fantastic if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia?&#8221; Trump <a href="https://twitter.com/henryrodgersdc/status/1369773486403649537">said</a> in a statement. &#8220;He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run Herschel, run!&#8221;
Walker&#8217;s 23-year-old son Christian Walker blamed Trump for the GOP&#8217;s failure to take the seat, saying that it was Trump who got him in the race.
&#8220;The Truth: Trump called my dad for months DEMANDING that he run,&#8221; Christian Walker tweeted. &#8220;Everyone with a brain begged him: &#8216;PLEASE DON’T DO THIS. This is too dirty, you have an insane past… PLEASE DONT DO THIS.&#8217; We got the middle finger. He ran.&#8221;
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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.”
We got the middle finger. He ran.
&mdash; Christian Walker (@ChristianWalk1r) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChristianWalk1r/status/1600332798967001088?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Republicans, we say we don’t play &#8216;identity politics&#8217; and then you ran this man mainly because he was the same skin color as his opponent with no background other than football,&#8221; he added. &#8220;A boring old Republican could have won.&#8221;
Notable responses included:
<ul>
<li>Joey Jones, Fox News: &#8220;Republicans lost the seat much more than Democrats won it (again). At some point, perhaps, they’ll learn.&#8221;</li>
<li>Scott Jennings, political strategist: &#8220;Georgia may be remembered as the state that broke Trump once and for all.&#8221;</li>
<li>Erick Erickson, Georgia-based radio host: &#8220;When @GOPChairwoman claims only the RNC worked in Georgia remember @BrianKempGA kept his ground operation going. @LeaderMcConnell poured $11 million into the state. The RNC didn&#8217;t do as much, but McDaniel will want credit to save her job. It&#8217;d have been a blowout but for Kemp. &#8230; No RNC Chair in the history of the whole party has lasted as long as Ronna McDaniel without seeing at least one winning election season. She took the job in 2017, and the GOP has lost every election cycle since.&#8221;</li>
<li>Ann Coulter, political author: &#8220;I sure hope Trump has some more brilliant ideas for can&#8217;t-miss Senate candidates. Omarosa maybe? Carrot Top? Ghislaine Maxwell?&#8221;</li>
<li>Caleb Hull, political commentator: &#8220;I hope we go into the next election with the realization that telling your base that their vote won’t matter because the election will be stolen isn’t a great strategy for winning… We had a layup this year and blew it. Time to move on.&#8221;</li>
<li>Robert Davi, actor: &#8220;The GOP is basically BRAINDEAD in my humble opinion! They are culturally tone deaf &#8211; and they have not come up with solutions! The messaging in the GOP is like Mitch McConnell a tired unenergetic uninspiring bore!!!!&#8221;</li>
<li>Joe Concha, The Hill: &#8220;Not surprising. If Herschel couldn’t win with Kemp on the ballot, he wasn’t winning in a runoff without him. Full picture: GOP gains a narrow majority in the House. Democrats gain one seat overall in a 50-50 Senate. Unpopular president in the WH. No party is winning right now.&#8221;</li>
<li>AG, political commentator: &#8220;Walker being a bad/inexperienced candidate meant he couldn’t fundraise himself, NRSC wasted all their $, and then Trump ate up all the small donors but then spent barely anything to back the guy he pushed on everyone.&#8221;</li>
<li>Andrew Egger, writer: &#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, but &#8216;Senate Republicans didn&#8217;t do enough to help Herschel Walker&#8217; is the most insane take I can imagine. Senate Republicans set aside every difference to try to lug Walker across the finish line! He proved himself unluggable!&#8221;</li>
</ul>
Other tweets that contained interesting tidbits of information included:
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With Walker’s defeat tonight, Trump’s final record in these races is 2-14 <a href="https://t.co/PCsCDAT1EQ">https://t.co/PCsCDAT1EQ</a>
&mdash; Allan Smith (@akarl_smith) <a href="https://twitter.com/akarl_smith/status/1600331819311734785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Georgia is a great example of the difference candidate quality makes:
Governor: R+8 Lt. Governor: R+5 Sec. of State: R+9 Attorney General: R+5 Ag. Commissioner: R+8 In. Commissioner: R+8 State School Superintendent: R+8 Commissioner of Labor: R+7
Senate: On track for D+2-4
&mdash; Ryan Matsumoto (@ryanmatsumoto1) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryanmatsumoto1/status/1600320057304760320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Georgia Republican Senate Candidate Herschel Walker Holds Runoff Election Night Event

Conservatives React To Herschel Walker’s Georgia Senate Runoff Loss, Cast Blame On Different Figures

Elections

Georgia

Herschel Walker

Politics

Raphael Warnock

Republican candidate Herschel Walker gave a classy concession speech Tuesday night following his loss in Georgia&#8217;s U.S. Senate runoff race against incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Walker&#8217;s speech came after he performed worse than he did against Warnock during last month&#8217;s midterm elections, losing by more than 90,000 votes versus only being separated by 37,675 votes back in November.
&#8220;One of the things I said is when they call the race, I said those numbers don&#8217;t look like they&#8217;re going to add up,&#8221; Walker said. &#8220;But one of the things that I want to tell all of you is you never stop dreaming. I don&#8217;t want any of you to stop dreaming. I don&#8217;t want any of you to stop believing in America. I want you to believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and believe in our elected officials. Most of all, continue to pray for them. Because all the prayers you&#8217;ve given me, I felt those prayers.&#8221;
Walker said that there were &#8220;no excuses in life&#8221; and told the crowd not to blame others for why he came up short in the race.
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&#8220;And most of all, stay together. Don&#8217;t let anyone separate you,&#8221; Walker said. &#8220;Don&#8217;t let anyone tell you that we can&#8217;t. Because I&#8217;m here to tell you we can. I&#8217;m here to tell you we can. And as I said early on, this God is good. And he&#8217;s a good God. All the time he&#8217;s a good God. So I want to say I&#8217;m never gonna stop fighting for Georgia. I&#8217;m never gonna stop fighting for you because you&#8217;re my family &#8230; God bless you guys. And let me just say, stay together. Continue to believe in our elected officials, always always cast your vote no matter whatever is happening &#8230; Continue to cast your vote. Never, never, never give up.&#8221;
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Walker delivers concession speech" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uweZgHO5S0k?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
TRANSCRIPT (Revised for clarity):
<blockquote>HERSCHEL WALKER: You know, I&#8217;m always gonna thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And also, I&#8217;m going to acknowledge my wife, Julie, because she&#8217;s with me and she&#8217;s been through a tough time. But I want to say that I want to thank all of you as well, because we&#8217;ve had a tough journey, have we not?
 But one of the things I said is when they call the race, I said those numbers don&#8217;t look like they&#8217;re going to add up. But one of the things that I want to tell all of you is you never stop dreaming. I don&#8217;t want any of you to stop dreaming. I don&#8217;t want any of you to stop believing in America. I want you to believe in America and continue to believe in the Constitution and believe in our elected officials. Most of all, continue to pray for them. Because all the prayers you&#8217;ve given me, I felt those prayers. 
I want to thank all my team as well, Team Herschel, because they put up with a lot. I want to thank team Herschel, thank all my donors, as well, because you guys without you, I couldn&#8217;t have done what I&#8217;ve done. So I want to thank all of you as well, because there&#8217;s no excuses in life. And I&#8217;m not gonna make any excuses now, because we put up one heck of a fight. And that&#8217;s what, that&#8217;s what we got to do. Because this is much bigger, this is much bigger than Herschel Walker.
 And I told someone this the other day, I said, &#8216;You guys, I&#8217;ve done a lot of stuff. You talk about Heisman Trophy, you talk about all the athletic award, Business Awards, I won. But the best thing I&#8217;ve ever done in my whole entire life, is run for the Senate seat right here.&#8217; And the reason I&#8217;m going to say that is I got a chance to meet all you and hear what you guys feel about this country. And I got a chance to, for you guys to tell me what you do feel about this country. I got a chance to go into your homes, got a chance that you invested in Herschel Walker. And I thank you, and I thank you so much. 
And as I said, you can&#8217;t blame no one. Because I want you to continue to believe in this country, believe in our elected officials. And most of all, stay together. Don&#8217;t let anyone separate you. Don&#8217;t let anyone tell you that we can&#8217;t. Because I&#8217;m here to tell you we can. I&#8217;m here to tell you we can. And as I said early on, This God is good. And he&#8217;s a good God. All the time he&#8217;s a good God. So I want to say I&#8217;m never gonna stop fighting for Georgia. I&#8217;m never gonna stop fighting for you because you&#8217;re my family. &#8230; God bless you guys. And let me just say, stay together. Continue to believe in our elected officials, always always cast your vote no matter whatever is happening. &#8230; Continue to cast your vote. Never, never, never give up. All right. God bless you guys. Thank you guys. Thank you.</blockquote>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-democrat-raphael-warnock-defeats-gop-challenger-herschel-walker-in-georgia-runoff-projection">Democrat Raphael Warnock Defeats GOP Challenger Herschel Walker In Georgia Runoff</a>

WATCH: Herschel Walker Gives Classy Concession Speech Following Loss In Senate Race

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in Georgia&#8217;s 2022 Senate runoff election. DecisionDeskHQ <a href="https://results.decisiondeskhq.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the race at approximately 9:48 p.m.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Decision Desk HQ projects Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) wins re-election to the U.S. Senate in Georgia.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DecisionMade?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DecisionMade</a>: 9:48pm EST
Follow more results here: <a href="https://t.co/hLeDr0wwEp">https://t.co/hLeDr0wwEp</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ica9IL7HyE">pic.twitter.com/Ica9IL7HyE</a>
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) <a href="https://twitter.com/DecisionDeskHQ/status/1600321318762577921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
Neither Walker nor Warnock secured more than 50% of the vote during the general election, thus triggering the runoff election held on Tuesday. Warnock’s victory follows a disappointing midterm election from Republicans across the United States, aside from several bright spots in the Georgia and Florida gubernatorial races.
Many pre-midterm polls and analyses predicted a “red wave,” with Republicans taking the House by a wide margin, and even the Senate by two to four seats, but following the midterm, Democrats have held the Senate.
This is Warnock&#8217;s second runoff after he defeated GOP candidate Kelly Loefller in the 2020 race, which was also not decided on the day of the general election — however, there were some changes to the voting process this time around.
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Under The Peach State&#8217;s 2021 voting reform law signed by incumbent Governor Brian Kemp (R), the state of Georgia shortened the time between the day of the <a href="https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/politics/georgias-early-voting-turnout-far-lower-than-last-runoff-after-state-changes-election-laws/3225734/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">general election</a> and the runoff election from nine weeks to just four. Similarly, the bill also condensed early voting from more than two weeks to just one week.
More than 1.8 million Georgians <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgia-breaks-record-on-last-day-of-early-voting" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voted</a> early in the state’s Senate runoff election scheduled for December 6, including a record-high 353,000 voters on Friday, the final day of early voting.
The official numbers from the Secretary of State recorded 1,868,127 <a href="https://sos.ga.gov/data-hub-december-6-2022-runoff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early voters</a>. The total revealed that more than one million female voters voted early, according to the state’s statistics.
The number of early voters was below the total from the recent November midterms in Georgia, when about <a href="https://sos.ga.gov/news/georgia-voters-set-all-time-midterm-early-turnout-record">2.5 million</a> voters cast their ballot before Election Day.
Despite the high level of early voting, the total is still lower than in the 2020 presidential election, when approximately <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-election-2022-25m-early-votes-cast-a-midterm-turnout-record/R5ZEYSPNMJH3RKVUMUZEGOXG5E/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2.5 million Georgia</a> residents voted early. Midterm elections generally draw smaller numbers of voters, with the state reflecting lower numbers experienced nationwide between the 2020 and 2022 elections.
In reaction to the turnout, Georgia&#8217;s Secretary of State&#8217;s Chief Operating Officer Gabriel Sterling <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/georgia-senate-race-12-04-22/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> CNN over the weekend, &#8220;There’s obviously a lot of enthusiasm. Both Democrats and Republicans can point to the turnout models and say, ‘that’s good for us’ so nobody knows what’s going to happen.&#8221;
The post-general election campaigning saw big stars from both parties turn out for their respective candidates.
Kemp — who defeated Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams this year — sat down with CNN to express why he was showing up for Walker during the runoff.
“The runoff now is a very simple choice,” Kemp <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfwUOXmEB4&amp;t=407s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at one point in the interview. “You know, are you going to vote for somebody that’s been with Joe Biden 96% of the time, or are you going to vote for somebody that’s going to go up there and fight for Georgia? And that’s the way I’m voting.”
As noted by CNN, Kemp was more hands-off during the general election. Walker was the only state-wide GOP candidate to not win outright on election night in 2022.
On Warnock&#8217;s side, Democrat heavyweight former President Barack Obama <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/upon-further-review-obamas-crazy-uncle-joe-snub-was-no-accident-in-georgia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">campaigned</a> for the incumbent in the final stretch.
During one stop, Obama <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1598471626638913537?s=20&amp;t=LMFuSGE-y2vRB4k-gUu5dg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocked</a> Walker for a story he recently told about vampires and why he would want to be a werewolf instead. The 44th president said that Walker can be anything he wants to be — just not a United States senator.
The former president compared Walker to a &#8220;crazy&#8221; &#8220;Uncle Joe.&#8221;
“We all know some folks in our lives, who we don’t wish them ill will. They say crazy stuff and we’re all like, ‘Well, Uncle Joe, you know what happened to him,’” Obama said to laughs from the audience. “They’re part of the family, but you don’t give them serious responsibilities.”
Throughout both the general and run-off campaign, polls showed Warnock and Walker neck-and-neck.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.

Herschel Walker, Raphael Warnock

Democrat Raphael Warnock Defeats GOP Challenger Herschel Walker In Georgia Runoff: Projection

2022 Midterms

&#8220;Happy Days&#8221; actor Henry Winkler weighed in on the Georgia <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/breaking-georgia-senate-race-moves-to-runoff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate run-off</a> — in favor of incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock — but his reasoning quickly sparked a number of unflattering references to Senator-elect John Fetterman (D-PA) and President Joe Biden.
<a href="https://dailywire.com/news/henry-winkler-aka-fonzie-tweets-contemptuously-at-those-boycotting-disney-world/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Winkler</a>, who played ultimate king of cool Arthur &#8220;The Fonz&#8221; Fonzarelli on the iconic television series, suggested that Georgia voters should choose Warnock over Republican challenger — and former NFL player — Herschel Walker because the latter occasionally seems to have difficulty forming &#8220;a full sentence.&#8221;
&#8220;GEORGIA : It’s not about Party … ITS [sic] about being able to form a full sentence,&#8221; Winkler tweeted on Monday. &#8220;VOTE WARNOCK.&#8221;
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GEORGIA : It’s not about Party … ITS about being able to form a full sentence . VOTE WARNOCK
&mdash; Henry Winkler (@hwinkler4real) <a href="https://twitter.com/hwinkler4real/status/1599910247317274624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The responses quickly poured in, most offering comparisons to Fetterman — who has struggled with auditory processing since his recent stroke and often has difficulty speaking in complete sentences — and Biden, whose reputation as a gaffe machine long predates his time in the Oval Office.
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&#8220;Pretty harsh swipe at Fetterman,&#8221; Doug Powers <a href="https://twitter.com/ThePowersThatBe/status/1600114407169662976" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commented</a>.
&#8220;Wait till the Fonz finds out who&#8217;s president,&#8221; Gerry Callahan <a href="https://twitter.com/GerryCallahan/status/1600124257719025665" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a> in response.
&#8220;Aaay… The Fonz hasn’t heard that we don’t vote based upon &#8216;celebrity&#8217; opinions, no matter how articulate they may be,&#8221; another <a href="https://twitter.com/JewhadiTM/status/1600027799523188741" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>.
Jim Treacher responded with a video clip from the debate between Fetterman and Republican candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz.
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<a href="https://t.co/zdVdkMMgUg">pic.twitter.com/zdVdkMMgUg</a>
&mdash; jimtreacher.substack.com (@jtLOL) <a href="https://twitter.com/jtLOL/status/1600111641856659456?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 6, 2022</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;You do realize who the guy in the White House is, right?&#8221; @MrReaganUSA <a href="https://twitter.com/MrReaganUSA/status/1600088377868460032" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>.
&#8220;So, John Fetterman should step down?&#8221; @ITguy1959 <a href="https://twitter.com/ITGuy1959/status/1600000537264500736" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a>.
&#8220;Democrats talking about voting for people who can form complete sentences is the most ironic thing I’ve ever seen,&#8221; <a href="https://twitter.com/brodybeilfuss/status/1600161142176854016" target="_blank" rel="noopener">came from</a> @brodybeilfuss.
Another <a href="https://twitter.com/Maga4Justice/status/1600158974753398784" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>, &#8220;Fetterman can’t form a thought or sentence. It’s blind loyalty to the Democrats.&#8221;
A number of others commented that Winkler, much like his television character, had &#8220;jumped the shark&#8221; with his comment — while still others argued that since the actor did not reside in Georgia, he should refrain from offering his commentary on the election.
Georgia&#8217;s run-off election, taking place on December 6th, will determine the <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/georgia-official-doubts-senate-runoff-winner-will-be-known-on-election-night/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">balance of power</a> in the U.S. Senate — namely, whether the Democrats will have a 51-seat majority or whether they will be forced to continue to bring in Vice President Kamala Harris to break party-line ties.

Vulture Festival 2022 Los Angeles

‘The Fonz’ Weighs In On Georgia Run-Off, Runs Face First Into John Fetterman And Joe Biden

'The Fonz' Weighs In On Georgia Run-Off, Runs Face First Into John Fetterman And Joe Biden

Celebrities

Joe Biden

John Fetterman

U.S.

We&#8217;re finally here: At long last, we&#8217;re about to be done with the 2022 midterm elections.
The U.S. Senate was mostly settled within a few days of the November 8 election, with Democrats retaining control of the chamber. But neither candidate in the Georgia race won a majority of the vote, forcing a runoff between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.
While it doesn&#8217;t seem like it matters much &#8212; Democrats could control the chamber 51-49 instead of 50-50 if Warnock wins &#8212; there&#8217;s still a lot at stake in the single remaining race. And it&#8217;s all about power.
COMMITTEE POWER
Much will change with the control of this last Senate seat.
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For the first two years of President Joe Biden&#8217;s term, Republicans and Democrats have been split 50-50 (which makes Vice President Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote).
That makeup, though, means that all the committees are required to have an equal number of members from each party. In a straight party-line vote, any measure will tie &#8212; and therefore die.
All that changes at 51-49.
If Warnock wins his runoff, Democrats would then be entitled to more committee seats, plus a larger share of the budget. Democratic committee chairmen won&#8217;t have to bother with that pesky bipartisan stuff, they can just jam everything down Republicans&#8217; throats.
The larger share of power brings several advantages. A Democratic majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee would make it far easier for them to confirm judicial nominees selected by Biden. Democratic committee chairmen would also be able to issue subpoenas compelling witnesses to testify and produce documents without a single Republican vote.
Both candidates have been pushing control of committees as a key in the runoff, with Walker recently telling <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/herschel-walker-raphael-warnock-republicans/2022/12/02/id/1098861/">Newsmax</a>, “Right now, we’ve got a chance to make all the committees even.”
MANCHIN/SINEMA POWER
Things have been weird with Democrats having just 50 votes in the Senate. A dynamic quickly emerged after the new Congress opened, with Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona &#8212; both moderates &#8212; having outsized power.
Both happily exploited their positions, much to the distress of Biden. Manchin was instrumental in forcing Biden to dramatically reduce his proposed $3.5 trillion social spending bill, which eventually became the more modest Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Back in July, Manchin said it was &#8220;not prudent&#8221; for Democrats to approve a major spending package while Americans faced soaring costs for food, fuel, and rent. &#8220;Inflation is wreaking havoc on everybody’s life,” Manchin said in a radio <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPR8mXfcoSM">interview</a>.
Sinema also obstructed Biden&#8217;s massive spending plan, eventually winning concessions on taxation, including some exemptions to a corporate minimum tax. Liberals were so miffed that Vanity Fair penned a piece <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2021/09/kyrsten-sinema-holding-bidens-agenda">headlined</a> (in all caps), &#8220;KYRSTEN SINEMA IS WINNING FANS ON THE RIGHT BY HOLDING UP BIDEN’S AGENDA.&#8221;
Biden has been frustrated with the pair. In campaign speeches and at fundraisers, Biden would often tell fellow Democrats, &#8220;we need two more senators” to move forward on his agenda. While a 51-49 Senate won&#8217;t altogether neuter Manchin and Sinema, they will most definitely lose some of their leverage.
TRUMP POWER
Former President Donald Trump did not fare well in the 2022 midterm elections. A slew of the candidates he endorsed lost, including Dr. Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, who got beat by a guy who can barely utter a coherent sentence.
Republicans openly derided Trump after the dismal showing of GOP candidates who failed to take back the Senate and barely grabbed control of the House. A <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3743701-trump-may-not-make-it-to-the-primaries/">YouGov</a> poll after the election showed Republicans who want him to run collapsed from 60% to just 47% (if you&#8217;re keeping score at home, that number doesn&#8217;t make you president).
Exit polls also found that a hefty chunk of voters came out just to vote against Trump&#8217;s candidates, and his presence was enough to throw some close races to the Democrats.
A Walker win could ease a bit of that embarrassment &#8212; or inflame it. Trump last year encouraged Walker to jump into the race, but as the candidate has stumbled, Trump has kept his distance.
In one last desperate effort, Trump made one final pitch &#8212; but not in person.
&#8220;Donald Trump plans to hold a rally via telephone for Herschel Walker ahead of Georgia’s US Senate run-off on Tuesday, opting not to campaign in-person and potentially draw more blame for hurting the GOP’s midterm election efforts,&#8221; <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-holding-tele-rally-for-herschel-walker-ahead-of-georgia-runoff/ar-AA14Ve9A">Bloomberg</a> wrote.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Joseph Curl has covered politics for 35 years, including 12 years as White House correspondent for a national newspaper. He was also the a.m. editor of the Drudge Report for four years. Send tips to josephcurl@dailywire.com and follow him on Twitter @josephcurl.

Walker

3 Reasons The Senate Runoff In Georgia Is Crucial

3 Reasons The Senate Runoff In Georgia Between Herschel Walker And Raphael Warnock Is Crucial

2022 Election

U.S. Senate

More than 1.8 million Georgians have voted early in the state&#8217;s Senate runoff election scheduled for December 6, including a record-high 353,000 voters on Friday, the final day of early voting.
The official numbers from the Secretary of State recorded 1,868,127 <a href="https://sos.ga.gov/data-hub-december-6-2022-runoff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">early voters</a>. The total revealed that more than one million female voters voted early, according to the state&#8217;s statistics.
The number of early voters exceeded the total from the recent November midterms in Georgia, when about 1.5 million voters cast their ballot before Election Day.
Despite the high level of early voting, the total is still lower than in the 2020 presidential election, when approximately <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-election-2022-25m-early-votes-cast-a-midterm-turnout-record/R5ZEYSPNMJH3RKVUMUZEGOXG5E/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2.5 million Georgia</a> residents voted early. Midterm elections generally draw smaller numbers of voters, with the state reflecting lower numbers experienced nationwide between the 2020 and 2022 elections.
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The previous 2021 Georgia Senate runoff that led to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock&#8217;s victory included 4.5 million voters. Warnock&#8217;s win resulted in a 50-50 tie in the Senate, giving Democrats the advantage as the vice president provides the tiebreaking vote.
This year, Warnock won 54% of early voting in November, with Republican hopeful Herschel Walker winning 56% of Election Day votes.
The Senate runoff was forced after no candidate won at least 50% of the vote last month. Warnock won 49.4%, with Walker at 48.5%. Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver won 2.1%.
The short period between the general election and the Senate runoff is due to a Georgia voting law passed in 2021. The change led to a four-week runoff period instead of nine weeks.
The state&#8217;s Senate runoff follows a similar situation in 2021 involving both of Georgia&#8217;s U.S. Senate seats, when Warnock and Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff were both forced into a January runoff following the 2020 general election and defeated Republican incumbent Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, giving Democrats an advantage in the Senate.
The outcome of the race between Warnock and Walker has major national implications as Democrats currently hold a 50-49 advantage after the midterms.
A win by Warnock would give Democrats an advantage in Senate committee selection and other areas in the chamber. A victory by Walker would leave the Senate at its current 50-50 level. Republicans won the House last month.

Georgia early voting

Georgia Breaks Record On Last Day Of Early Voting

Georgia residents might have to wait at least one day to know the winner of Tuesday&#8217;s Senate runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Citing record-breaking early voting turnout, one state election official predicted that the results might not be apparent on election night as he expects a close contest.
&#8220;We&#8217;re preparing for, you know, it being a very tight race,&#8221; Georgia secretary of state’s chief operating officer <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/georgia-senate-race-12-04-22/index.html">Gabriel Sterling told CNN&#8217;s Pamela Brown</a> in an <a href="https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/cnr/date/2022-12-03/segment/11">interview Saturday</a>. &#8220;I anticipate we may not know on Tuesday night. It just, it really depends because it&#8217;s up to the voters and they&#8217;re, and they&#8217;re showing up in droves.&#8221;
Officials have estimated more than 1.85 million Georgians have already voted, and two single-day records have been broken in about a week, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/georgia-senate-runoff-smashes-early-voting-records-attracts-new-voters-rcna59981">according to NBC News.</a> Sterling <a href="https://twitter.com/GabrielSterling/status/1598883931532587009">previously said</a> he expects the final tally in early voting, which ended Friday, to reach over 1.9 million as absentee ballots are counted.
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&#8220;There&#8217;s obviously a lot of enthusiasm. &#8230; Both Democrats and Republicans can point to the turnout models and say, &#8216;that&#8217;s good for us&#8217; so nobody knows what&#8217;s going to happen,&#8221; Sterling told CNN.
Warnock is facing his second runoff in two years after neither he nor Walker reached the 50% support needed to win the general election in November. Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Party candidate, received a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/us/elections/georgia-runoff-chase-oliver.html">little more than 2% support</a>, which would have been sufficient to put either Warnock or Walker over the threshold set by state law.
While Warnock has the backing of top Democrats, including President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, Walker, a former football star, is supported by former President Donald Trump.
Unlike the 2021 runoff election, in which Democrats swept both Senate seats in Georgia and took control of the chamber, the balance of power in the Senate will not be decided in the Peach State. Democrats already retained a razor-thin command with a win in Nevada, but having another seat could help party leadership bypass more centrist members who sometimes break ranks.
A recent CNN poll shows Warnock <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/02/politics/cnn-poll-georgia-senate-runoff-election/index.html">holding a narrow lead</a> over Walker. Data indicates Democrats are outpacing Republicans in terms of in-person and mail-in early voting as well as ad spending, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/georgia-senate-runoff-smashes-early-voting-records-attracts-new-voters-rcna59981">NBC News reported</a>.

Raphael Warnock/Herschel Walker

Georgia Official Doubts Senate Runoff Winner Will Be Known On Election Night

Mail-In Voting

Senate

Former President<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obama-administration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Barack Obama</a> just made an unfortunate gaffe about President Joe Biden&#8217;s mental state while campaigning in Georgia with incumbent Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/georgias-brian-kemp-breaks-down-why-raphael-warnock-shouldnt-be-re-elected" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Raphael Warnock</a> (D-GA) ahead of next week&#8217;s Senate runoff election against GOP challenger <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/herschel-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herschel Walker</a>.
Why isn&#8217;t the actual Biden campaigning for Warnock this week? Well, the reverend won&#8217;t <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-warnock-goes-record-about-whether-he-wants-biden-join-him-campaign-trail" target="_blank" rel="noopener">say</a> why he doesn&#8217;t want Biden on the campaign trail, but his absence was highlighted when Obama made a comparison between Walker and a &#8220;crazy&#8221; avuncular character most American families seem to have.
&#8220;We all know some folks in our lives, who we don&#8217;t wish them ill will. They say crazy stuff and we&#8217;re all like, &#8216;Well, Uncle Joe, you know what happened to him,’” Obama said to laughs from the audience. &#8220;They&#8217;re part of the family, but you don&#8217;t give them serious responsibilities.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Fmr. President Barack Obama: &quot;We all know some folks in our lives&#8230;they say crazy stuff&#8230;Uncle Joe, you know what happened to him. They&#39;re part of the family but you don&#39;t give them serious responsibilities.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/PTmY1rGTrQ">pic.twitter.com/PTmY1rGTrQ</a>
&mdash; Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) <a href="https://twitter.com/DailyCaller/status/1598472611616497668?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Obama&#8217;s comments came immediately after <a href="https://twitter.com/Acyn/status/1598471626638913537?s=20&amp;t=LMFuSGE-y2vRB4k-gUu5dg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mocking</a> Walker for a story he recently told about vampires and why he would want to be a werewolf instead. The 44th president said that Walker can be anything he wants to be — just not a United States senator.
While the remarks were intended to be a dig at the Republican candidate, they remind voters of Biden&#8217;s own failings.
To quote <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/133021/republicans-keep-committing-kinsley-gaffe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">journalist</a> Michael Kinsley, &#8220;A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth — some obvious truth he isn&#8217;t supposed to say.&#8221;
In that case, it seems Obama just made a major gaffe about Biden.
It seems obvious that Biden isn&#8217;t actually in charge nor given any &#8220;serious responsibilities,&#8221; as Obama said about the fictional &#8220;Uncle Joe.&#8221;
White House staff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/none-of-the-three-occurred-biden-denies-making-foreign-policy-gaffes-that-white-house-walked-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">repeatedly</a> walk back his comments — on topics regarding the military, national security, and the pandemic, among others. He often claims an unknown group known only as &#8220;they&#8221; want him to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/biden-admits-to-being-instructed-which-reporters-to-call-on-trump-press-sec-condemns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">take questions from certain reporters</a>. He was given a notecard to remind him <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/you-take-your-seat-bidens-notecard-has-step-by-step-instructions-for-everything-like-walking-into-room-and-sitting-down" target="_blank" rel="noopener">when and where to sit</a>.
Even the Easter Bunny <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-easter-bunny-blocks-joe-biden-from-commenting-on-foreign-policy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commands the president</a>.
The message is that the current president isn&#8217;t responsible for what he says, calling on the press, choosing his own seat, or even how he spends his time at the holiday egg roll on the White House lawn.
It is exactly as Obama described.
To make matters worse, readers might remember the embarrassing scene at the White House last April. Obama returned to the Presidential Palace to commemorate the Affordable Care Act — AKA Obamacare.
What happened?
Biden was completely ignored by everybody in attendance. The president was seen walking around by himself, pacing back and forth looking for somebody to speak with.
Meanwhile, Obama and Vice President Kamala Harris left poor Uncle Joe out to dry as they worked the room.
At one point, Biden even seemingly tried yelling to get Obama&#8217;s attention. When that didn&#8217;t work, he tugged on his former boss&#8217; shoulder just so he would speak to him. Legacy Media ignored it, but the international press ate up the national embarrassment.
The following clip from The Telegraph, titled &#8220;Biden appears &#8216;lost&#8217; in White House event as guests swarm around Barack Obama instead,&#8221; captured some of the worst moments of the affair:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Biden appears &#039;lost&#039; in White House event as guests swarm around Barack Obama instead" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QGRxVITBGOA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Sky News Australia&#8217;s Chris Kenny also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/video-why-does-biden-constantly-wander-around-aimlessly-after-speeches" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the occasion was &#8220;extraordinary&#8221; while remaking, &#8220;A U.S. president you can ignore. It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?&#8221;
Now, Warnock is completely ignoring him on the campaign trail and Obama is making Freudian slips about Biden&#8217;s mental state.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wheres-jackie-biden-asks-where-dead-congresswoman-is-at-white-house-conference" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Where’s Jackie?’: Biden Asks Where Dead Congresswoman Is At White House Conference</a>

Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Raphael Warnock

Freudian Slip? Obama Talks About ‘Crazy’ ‘Uncle Joe’ Not Having Any ‘Serious Responsibilities’ During Warnock Campaign Rally

Barack Obama

Executive

Georgia&#8217;s Senate runoff is just one week away, and Democratic incumbent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/raphael-warnock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senator Raphael Warnock</a> is neck-and-neck against GOP challenger <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/herschel-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herschel Walker</a>.
Assisting Walker on the campaign trail is newly re-elected Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brian-kemp-defeats-stacey-abrams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crushed</a> his Democratic opponent Stacey Abrams. Kemp sat down with CNN&#8217;s Kaitlan Collins and explained why Georgians should not vote for Warnock.
&#8220;The runoff now is a very simple choice,&#8221; Kemp <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfwUOXmEB4&amp;t=407s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> at one point in the interview. &#8220;You know, are you going to vote for somebody that&#8217;s been with Joe Biden 96% of the time, or are you going to vote for somebody that&#8217;s going to go up there and fight for Georgia? And that&#8217;s the way I&#8217;m voting.&#8221;
As pointed out by Collins, Walker was the only statewide GOP candidate in Georgia who did not win in the Peach State during the general election. Now, Kemp is lending his clout to help push the former Heisman Trophy winner over the finish line.
Collins asked, &#8220;Does Herschel Walker share your values?&#8221;
Kemp responded, &#8220;Well, listen, when I&#8217;m talking about going to Washington, D.C., and fighting for what Georgians need, I&#8217;m talking about the border, 40 year high inflation, astronomical gas prices since Joe Biden took office, and the agenda that Raphael Warnock has supported up there.&#8221;
Kemp explained that Walker is the go-to guy for the people of Georgia.
&#8220;I mean, to me, it&#8217;s that simple in this race,&#8221; he said again. &#8220;And that&#8217;s, you know, why I&#8217;m voting for Herschel Walker. I want somebody to go up there and go fight for our state and fight for our citizens, not fight to support a president that really, in my view, is not upholding the values of what Georgians want.&#8221;
Kemp also claimed that his recently created federal PAC is designed to &#8220;get Herschel Walker elected to the United States Senate&#8221; and also help future federal candidates in Georgia.
Repeatedly during the interview, he reminded Republicans to not get &#8220;distracted&#8221; by other things during this runoff election.
A portion of the interview can be watched here:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Georgia governor asked if Herschel Walker shares his values. Hear his reply" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LIfwUOXmEB4?start=407&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Voters are particularly animated in this runoff after neither Walker nor Warnock secured more than 50% of the vote during the general.
Georgia broke another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-georgias-record-voter-turnout-is-actually-voter-suppression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting record</a> Monday, as more than 300,000 early voters came out to the polls in a single day to cast their ballots.
The turnout smashed the previous early voting record of more than 233,252 votes in 2018.
Democrats currently have a 50-49 seat advantage in the Senate. Polls show that Warnock and Walker are in a <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/2022/georgia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virtual dead heat</a>.

Herschel Walker, Brian Kemp

Georgia’s Brian Kemp Breaks Down Why Raphael Warnock Shouldn’t Be Re-Elected

Georgia's Brian Kemp Breaks Down Why Raphael Warnock Shouldn't Be Re-Elected

Brian Kemp

Georgia broke another <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-georgias-record-voter-turnout-is-actually-voter-suppression" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting record</a> Monday, as more than 239,000 early voters came out to the polls in a single day to cast their ballots 2022 senate runoff election between incumbent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/raphael-warnock" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senator Raphael Warnock</a> (D-GA) and GOP challenger <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/herschel-walker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Herschel Walker</a>.
Interim Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling announced that more than 239,160 Georgians voted on Monday, smashing the previous early voting record of more than 233,252 votes in 2018, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/2022-georgia-senate-runoff-georgia-sets-one-day-early-voting-record/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CBS News.
Georgia voters have been particularly animated in this election, despite Democratic warnings that a 2021 voter integrity law signed by incumbent Governor Brian Kemp would disenfranchise millions of voters. Democrats warned the legislation would usher in a new era of “Jim Crow 2.0.” President Joe Biden said it would make that previous era of American history look like “Jim Eagle.”
However, despite those predictions <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/early-voting-breaks-records-georgia-bitter-senate-race-tests-red-blue-rcna55810">more than two million people voted</a> via early voting and absentee ballots, smashing previous records in the process for the general election.
When asked about that fact and Biden&#8217;s previous comments prior to the general election, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre implied that the state&#8217;s voting law hampered the ability to vote.
“As you know, I have to be careful. I cannot get into politics from here,” Jean-Pierre said, “The president has been very clear that based on the ‘Big Lie’ there have been a host of anti-voter policies forced on states that challenge America’s fundamental right to vote, the access to voting. So this is against our most basic values, including respect for the law and the constitution.”
Jean-Pierre also claimed that record turnout doesn&#8217;t disprove voter suppression.
“Speaking generally of course, but more broadly, high turnout and voter suppression can take place at the same time,” she added. “One doesn’t have to happen on its own. They can be happening at the same time, but I will leave it there without being able to really dig into the politics of this.”
Warnock, the  <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-raphael-warnock-file">53-year-old reverend</a> from Atlanta, Georgia, was first elected to the Senate on January 5, 2021, after defeating GOP candidate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/kelly-loeffler">Kelly Loeffler</a> in a run-off election. Loeffler had been appointed to serve until an election, having replaced the late Johnny Isakson.
As a newcomer into politics, Walker spent much of his campaign tying Warnock to unpopular President Joe Biden and painted the Democrat as a divisive, out-of-touch progressive.
“Senator Warnock believes America is a bad country full of racist people,” Walker said in one ad. “I believe we’re a great country full of generous people. Warnock wants to divide us. I want to bring us together.”
After neither candidate secured more than 50% of the vote on November 8, the race officially moved to a runoff election.
Democrats currently have a 50-49 seat advantage. Polls show that Warnock and Walker are in a <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/senate/2022/georgia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">virtual dead heat</a>.

Georgia Sets New Single Day Early Voting Record In Senate Runoff

Voting

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/georgia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a> Supreme Court voted unanimously to allow counties to offer early voting on the Saturday after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/thanksgiving" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Thanksgiving</a>, overruling GOP protests in favor of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/democratic-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Democrats</a>.
A trio of Republican groups — Georgia Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Republican National Committee — filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court Tuesday requesting it overturn a lower court ruling allowing early voting on Saturday. The GOP groups argued that state law prohibits early voting on a Saturday that comes after a holiday on the previous Thursday or Friday.
The state’s highest court ruled 9-0 in favor of Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock’s campaign and the state Democratic Party, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/11/23/georgia-oks-early-voting-in-warnock-walker-senate-runoff/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>. The Democratic groups argued that the provision in question applies to primary and general elections, but not to runoffs. Warnock faces GOP candidate Herschel Walker in a runoff election for Warnock’s seat on December 6.
The GOP appeal came after Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger prohibited counties from offering early voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Raffensperger’s order drew legal complaints from Warnock’s campaign and the Democratic Party of Georgia, sparking a legal battle that appears to have ended Wednesday in the state Supreme Court.
Raffensperger quit the legal battle after the state Court of Appeals ruled against the secretary of state on Monday, keeping in place a Fulton County judge’s ruling. The Republican groups <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-asks-georgias-highest-court-to-limit-early-voting-in-senate-runoff" target="_blank" rel="noopener">picked up</a> the legal battle a day later, stating that the Court of Appeals’ decision would “gut the statute, sow utter chaos, and unevenly impact Georgia voters’ access to advance voting.”
Raffensperger accused Warnock and Democrats on Wednesday after the Supreme Court’s decision of meddling in the state’s election laws for their own benefit.
“Senator Warnock and his Democratic Party allies are seeking to change Georgia law right before an election based on their political preferences,” Raffensperger said in a statement, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/georgia-supreme-court-allows-early-voting-this-saturday-us-senate-runoff-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a>. “Instead of muddying the water and pressuring counties to ignore Georgia law, Senator Warnock should be allowing county election officials to continue preparations for the upcoming runoff.”
Warnock and Walker are facing each other in the last undecided contest for a U.S. Senate seat in 2022. The November 8 general election ended with neither candidate reaching the required 50% threshold to avoid a runoff. Warnock ended slightly <a href="https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/georgia/senate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ahead</a> with 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5%. Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, who will not appear on the ballot in the runoff, finished with 2.1%.
The runoff election will decide whether the Republican Party will maintain its 50-50 split in the Senate or lose a seat and give the Democrats a 51-49 advantage. The additional Democratic seat would allow Democrats to pass legislation on party-line votes without the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The legislation would have to be approved by a GOP-controlled House, however.

Georgia Supreme Court Sides With Warnock, Democrats In Early Voting Fight

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/republican-party" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GOP</a> groups have requested that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/georgia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Georgia</a>’s Supreme Court prohibit early voting this Saturday in the state’s runoff <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/u-s-senate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Senate</a> election, arguing that state law dictates that early voting can&#8217;t take place on that day because it follows the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Georgia Republican Party, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and the Republican National Committee filed an appeal with the state’s Supreme Court after an appeals court rejected a similar request from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-herschel-walker-georgia-atlanta-83f554285f2740a6fb8b97a862632150" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Associated Press</a>. The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed Raffensperger’s request on Monday.
Raffensperger argued, and the GOP groups maintain, that state law prohibits early voting on Saturday if a holiday falls on either of the two days before. Thursday, Thanksgiving, and Friday are both recognized holidays. This coming Saturday will be the only opportunity to cast any early vote on a Saturday before the runoff election on December 6.
“The court of appeals’ denial of the Intervenor’s motion for emergency stay allows the superior court’s interpretation of [state law] to gut the statute, sow utter chaos, and unevenly impact Georgia voters’ access to advance voting,” the Tuesday GOP <a href="https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/RNC-NRSC-GAGOP-Supreme-Court-Filing-Package.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filing</a> says.
The GOP intervention in the case comes after Raffensperger decided against pursuing the issue. Raffensperger’s office said Monday that he would not file any additional appeals.
“The court has worked its will. We believe this is something the General Assembly should consider clarifying to avoid confusion in the future. I hope that election workers are able to enjoy a somewhat restful holiday despite this decision,” Raffensperger spokesman Mike Hassinger said, according to <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/georgia-appeals-court-allows-saturday-early-voting-in-us-senate-runoff/NNQ4B7DY25ARVGXK7AQPNBDSMM/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a>.
At least 10 counties are expected to offer early voting on Saturday. The legal battle began after Raffensperger prohibited early voting on Saturday, citing state law. His decision sparked a lawsuit from the campaign of incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and the Georgia Democratic Party.
Warnock will face GOP challenger Herschel Walker in the runoff election. The November 8 general election ended with neither candidate reaching the required 50% threshold to avoid a runoff. Warnock ended slightly <a href="https://www.politico.com/2022-election/results/georgia/senate/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ahead</a> with 49.4% of the vote to Walker’s 48.5%. Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver, who will not appear on the ballot in the runoff, finished with 2.1%.
The runoff election will decide whether the Republican Party will maintain its 50-50 split in the Senate or lose a seat and give the Democrats a 51-49 advantage. The additional Democratic seat would allow Democrats to pass legislation on party-line votes without the tiebreaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The legislation would have to be approved by a GOP-controlled House, however.

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