Obama helps Warnock in Senate runoff in Georgia
Former President Barack Obama plans to return to Georgia to campaign for Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock in the closing days of the runoff election with Republican Herschel Walker, which will determine whether Democrats will gain a two-seat edge in the chamber.
Mr. Obama is scheduled to hold a Dec. 1 rally for Mr. Warnock in Atlanta. He held a previous rally for the senator on Oct. 28, days before the general election.
Mr. Warnock led Mr. Walker by about 36,000 votes or 0.9% in the general election, but neither candidate broke the 50% threshold needed to avoid the Dec. 6 runoff. A libertarian candidate, Chase Oliver, who played spoiler by drawing 2.1% of ballots the regular election, won’t be on the ballot.
The announcement comes as the results of the Nov. 8 general election were to be certified Monday.
Democrats outperformed expectations in the midterm elections, surrendering fewer-thanexpected losses in the House and holding control of the Senate, where they would increase their majority to 51 seats should Mr. Warnock prevail. A Walker victory would leave the chamber at 50-50 with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tiebreaking vote.
In his Oct. 28 rally, Mr. Obama, the first Black U.S. president, cast Mr. Walker, a former football star backed by ex-President Donald Trump, as unqualified to serve in office. Mr. Warnock is the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate. Mr. Walker would join South Carolina U.S. Sen. Tim Scott as the only other Black Republican currently serving in the chamber.
“Some of you may not remember, but Herschel Walker was a heck of a football player. But here’s the question: does that make him the best person to represent you in the U.S. Senate,” Mr. Obama said. “Does that make him equipped to weigh in on the critical decisions about our economy and our foreign policy and our future?”
Mr. Walker responded with an Oct. 29 statement saying that Mr. Obama “told us to vote for Joe Biden, didn’t he? He got that one wrong, did he not?”
Georgia’s GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Sens. Jack Kennedy of Louisiana, Ted Cruz of Texas and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are among others who have stumped with Mr. Walker in recent days.