Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia Here we go again. For the second time in as many years, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock is headed to a runoff. Neither he nor his Republican opponent Herschel Walker has secured 50 percent of the vote in Georgia, the state office confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Heisman Trophy-winning running back will face off again for the US Senate seat on Tuesday December 6. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jolt newsletter made clear on Wednesday morning, “split-ticket voters” were the key to pushing the Senate race to a runoff.

Live analysis as the results come in from your favorite Spectator editors, staffers, columnists and contributors (and some you don’t like, for good measure).

Atlanta, Georgia “Ms. Abrams, public opinion polls in our state show support for the right to abortion, Medicaid expansion and banning assault weapons. You are on the side of public opinion on each of these issues, yet you are behind in almost every poll. Why?” Conservatives snorted at veteran Georgia newsman Chuck Williams when, in his decidedly Appalachian tones, he asked that as his opening question during Stacey Abrams’s first debate with Brian Kemp. Many on Twitter considered it the ultimate softball: why don’t voters like you as much as us journalists, Ms. Abrams? You’re so great! I didn’t see it that way — Williams’s question could be read as a damning indictment of Abrams’s fortunes in the years since she first stood for the Georgia governorship.

Atlanta, Georgia Georgia’s leading political candidates crossed swords earlier this week at the Georgia Public Broadcasting studios for the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young debate series. Well, most of them did. A few contenders — from both parties — decided to swerve the chance to engage with their opponents, the public and the press. At least two of them — Lucy McBath and David Scott — are incumbent Democrats whose districts cover the Atlanta suburbs. Yes, the traffic is bad and their seats are basically locks, but those are hardly reasons to skip an opportunity to prove that the Dems are the "party of accountability" that "respects the press" rather than scorns it.

Herschel Walker's performance in Friday night's Georgia Senate debate provided a good example of the benefits of lowered expectations and the difficult task facing Democrats in November. Walker's country drawl came across as charming and allowed him to navigate the thornier questions that have faced his campaign in recent weeks. Incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, meanwhile, struggled to defend his avowedly partisan record during his brief time in office. Campaigns will spin even in the face of clear losses, but the Walker campaign was ecstatic over their candidate's performance, which they view as a definitive boost in the closing weeks of the election cycle.

Friday night brought Georgia voters the sole debate in the contest between Herschel Walker and Senator Raphael Warnock, with the pair meeting on stage at the J.W. Marriott in Savannah. Thanks to Axios, you could play debate bingo if you wanted to, thereby officially informing your friends you have the saddest social schedule imaginable. Debate dodging has been a major feature of the 2022 cycle. In Arizona, Democrat Katie Hobbs has said she's too busy to debate her gubernatorial opponent Kari Lake — who as it happens is far more telegenic than she is. In Pennsylvania, Democrat John Fetterman has agreed to just one Senate debate with Republican Mehmet Oz, with a long series of stipulations about closed captioning and multiple practice opportunities for the setup.

With the 2022 midterms now only a month away, there isn't a candidate anywhere who can avoid fielding questions about abortion. The issue is fair game thanks to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in its recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. And all the more so because, at least in theory, Congress could act to either federally legalize abortion or federally ban it. So it is that abortion has become a major topic of conversation in the US Senate campaign in Georgia, where NFL legend Herschel Walker and incumbent Senator Rafael Warnock are locked in one of the most pivotal races this year.

By all accounts, Herschel Walker's defects as a Senate candidate are widely known. The star running back had been very public about his history of mental illness, which led to violent threats in his former marriage. Far beyond the normal risks associated with running a celebrity outsider, Walker represented a particularly unlikely choice. Of course, that all changed thanks to Walker's association with Donald Trump. Ever since Walker joined Trump's New Jersey Generals franchise in the ill-fated USFL, the two have been connected. It was this friendship and Trump's endorsement that allowed Walker to clear the field in what might have been a competitive primary to unseat Senator Raphael Warnock.