High voter enthusiasm in Georgia runoff
What happened
With the last undecided seat in the Senate at stake, record numbers of Georgians voted early this week in the tight runoff between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican former NFL star Herschel Walker. Voting began last weekend in some counties and across the state on Monday, and hundreds of thousands of Georgians cast ballots, breaking turnout records on both Monday and Tuesday. The runoff was necessary because no candidate won more than 50 percent in the very close first round, in which Warnock received about 38,000 more votes than Walker out of some 4 million cast. Polls show support for the two men split evenly, and voting will continue through Dec. 6.
The campaign turned increasingly bitter toward the end. Walker characterized Warnock as a lackey of President Biden, who is deeply unpopular in Georgia, while Warnock highlighted his opponent’s lies and gaffes and questioned his fitness for office. Meanwhile, questions emerged over where Walker actually lives: He named a Dallas house as his primary home on his 2022 taxes, and The Daily Beast this week reported that his wife’s Atlanta property, which he has used to claim residence in Georgia, had been rented to tenants as recently as 2021. Although Donald Trump endorsed Walker in September 2021, he hasn’t campaigned with him since last March, and Walker’s team has not invited the former president to Georgia. “This is not Trump’s race,” Walker said in a recent interview. “This is Herschel Walker’s race.”
What the columnists said
Don’t underestimate the importance of this race, said Heather Higgins in The Wall Street Journal. Yes, the Democrats control the Senate either way, but having a 51st Democrat “would make the party a lot more powerful,” giving it committee majorities and the ability to ram through judicial nominees. Unchecked by moderate Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, Democrats could even “abolish the legislative filibuster.” A Walker win “would be the crucial brake” on such extremism.
Yet Walker has proven himself “utterly unqualified” for office, said Frida Ghitis in CNN.com. He has falsely claimed at various times to be a University of Georgia graduate, a military veteran, and a former cop. He emits “incoherent word salads” and lacks a basic grasp of policy issues. Most troubling, he has a history of alleged domestic violence. “It’s hard to imagine a more flawed candidate.”
Still, it would be “silly to write off” Walker’s chances, said Alex Samuels in FiveThirtyEight.com. Republicans nearly always increase their share of the vote in Georgia runoffs—and Walker has popular Gov. Brian Kemp stumping for him. Warnock, though, leads in the “enthusiasm” race, with far more of his supporters than Walker’s saying they’re excited about their choice. Right now, polls show the two men neck and neck, so victory will come down to which party can turn out its base. If Warnock does prevail, that will mean Georgia is no longer red, but officially “purple.”