Washington
Incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican football star Herschel Walker in Georgiaâs Senate runoff election, NBC News projects, handing President Joe Biden and his party a key win.
With Warnockâs win, the Democrats now have the majority of 51 seats in the Senate, which will give the party control of key committees and also a leeway to draw a more equal power-sharing arrangement with Senate Republicans.
The Georgia win is also critical to Democratsâ chances of retaining the majority in 2024, where the electoral map heavily favours Republicans.
It is also a major loss of face for former president Donald Trump, who had backed Walker and campaigned for him. Trump was already facing the music from a few Republicans after many of his handpicked candidates performed poorly in the November midterm election.
The runoff was held after neither candidate was able to receive more than 50 per cent of the vote during the midterm election held on November 8.
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The Georgia runoff saw one of the most bitterly fought campaigns that were marred with scandals and pessimism. Even before the runoffs began, Walker's public life became the talk of the town over his anti-abortion views and his mental health.
The pessimism over Walker's candidacy came to the fore after accusations by Walkerâs ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, that he had been abusive and threatening toward her.
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Less than two weeks before the midterms, a second woman came forward and accused Walker of infidelity.
Warnock campaign's manager Quentin Fulks acknowledged that reservations about Walker helped Warnock to help get the votes of independents and Republican-leaning voters.
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âWhen it turned out to be Herschel Walker, we immediately looked at the landscape and saw an opportunity to say that we can make this race about âthe Reverendâ versus âthe running back.â And if we did that, we could control our own destiny within this cycle,â Fulks told NBC in an interview.
(With inputs from agencies)
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