ATLANTA — UPDATE:
Incumbent Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker. Multiple media outlets, including the Associated Press and NBC News, have called the race.
Warnock jumped out to an initial lead thanks to strong early voting totals. Walker closed the gap, and the pair traded the lead as the evening went on. The Democrat took the lead late Tuesday night and is expected to pull away as metro Atlanta counties continue their count.
Warnock is the first Georgia Democrat to win re-election to the U.S. Senate since Sam Nunn in 1990.
Democrats will hold a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate.
Original story below
Peach State voters took another trip to the polls on Dec. 6 to settle a race between incumbent Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker after neither candidate cleared the 50% + 1 vote majority threshold on Election Day.
Democrats were able to solidify their control of the senate after Nevada's U.S. Senate race ended with Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto winning her re-election. That means the balance of the Senate is not hanging in the ballots of Georgia this year, but the runoff in Georgia still remains important.
One expert said that whoever wins the seat will put their party in a better place next cycle and could create a 50-50 Senate.
“This is a seat that was once held by Republicans, so Republicans have an incentive to try to recapture that seat," 11Alive News political analyst Andra Gillespie said. "That makes it easier for them going into the next cycle in terms of trying to recapture control of the chamber in 2024.”
More Georgia election results: Click here
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