The state of Georgia voted this Tuesday in the second round to decide the final composition of the US Senatein which the democrats have already secured their control thanks to the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The Democrat Pastor Raphael Warnock and the former Republican athlete Herschel Walker They faced each other again at the polls after failing to exceed 50 percent of the vote in the midterm elections on November 8. The first results were expected shortly after the polls closed, although in such a close election the final count could take days to be known.
Warnock versus Walker
FiveThirtyEight’s survey average gives you a slight 50.2 percent lead to Warnockwho before becoming a senator was a pastor at the Baptist church where African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King preached in Atlanta.
Warnock campaigned on his individual accomplishments in the Senate, touting a provision he sponsored to cap insulin costs for Medicare patients, while reminding voters that Republicans blocked his idea of capping those costs. for all insulin dependent patients.
The Democratic candidate showed his political waistline by applauding the deals on infrastructure and maternal health care forged with Republicans Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida, mentioning those colleagues in the Senate more than President Joe Biden, the leader Senate Majority Chuck Schumer or other Washington Democrats.
Opposite Warnock was Walker, a former football star backed by former President Donald Trump.. Although publicly anti-abortion, Walker is accused by the mother of one of her four children and by another woman of having pressured her to undergo a termination of pregnancy. He has also faced multiple charges of domestic violence and is accumulating lies about his academic achievements and his business record.
Despite having the support of the Republican magnate, Walker has been differing from Trump in a notable way. While the former president spent two years falsely claiming his loss in Georgia and nationally was fraudulent, Warnock was asked in October, in his only debate against Warnock, if he would accept Warnock’s results even if he lost, to which he responded with just one question. word: “yes”. A poll broadcast last Friday by CNN found that only 39 percent of Georgia voters approve of the former president.
This second round in the southeastern state of the United States, which is celebrated because neither of the two candidates reached more than 50 percent of the votes in the first, closes the mid-term legislative elections. “Georgia, today is Election Day, and the nation has its eyes on you.. Go to the polls and help get Warnock back in the United States Senate,” President Joe Biden tweeted.
The balance of power in the US Congress does not depend on this seat because the Democrats have already gained control of the Senate, while the Republicans will dominate the House of Representatives. But the outcome of the vote in this state with a large African-American population is decisive for the rest of Biden’s term.
400 million dollars
The Republicans see in this seat of the Senate the opportunity to accentuate their power to block the policies of the Democratic president. With 700 days to go before the next presidential election, the opposition is also hoping to put obstacles in the way of Biden, who did much better than expected in last November’s legislative elections.
For Democrats, a victory would consolidate Biden’s party’s slim majority in the Senate and allow him more influence on key congressional committees.. To get everything on their side, the Democrats turned to heavyweights, such as former President Barack Obama, arguably one of the party’s most charismatic figures, who campaigned in the city of Atlanta last week.
It also shows the importance and interest of this duel that almost 400 million dollars were spent on these elections. Some 1.9 million people, out of seven million registered, have already voted in advance. For now, the pro-Democratic participation seems to prevail, but the Republican electorate could have mobilized to a greater extent this Tuesday, so it is difficult to predict the outcome.
As polls opened Tuesday morning, cold and rainy conditions greeted voters in Atlanta, Georgia’s capital and largest and most populous city. At a suburban Johns Creek elementary school, voters lined up before the polls opened to cast their ballots, undeterred by the hostile weather conditions.
Though typically a Republican stronghold, Georgia surprised by choosing Biden over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.. And two months later two Democrats for the Senate. Now this border state with Florida is once again the object of desire for each other.
Last month Warnock led Walker by some 37,000 votes out of the almost four million cast, but fell short of a majority, which triggered this second and disputed round of elections.