Six states to watch for the 2022 midterms
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Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker face a December runoff as neither candidate was able to garner enough votes for an outright victory under state law.
After clinching a shock victory for Democrats in 2020, Mr Warnock is trying to keep his Senate seat from being snatched away by Republican Mr Walker.
Mr Warnock won his seat in a second round in 2021, which came the day before the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
The two Georgia Senate hopefuls went into overtime Thursday night as they restarted their campaigns by holding two dueling rallies in Georgia.
Mr. Warnock staged his in downtown Atlanta in front of a mural of civil rights icon John Lewis, while Mr. Walker launched an “Evict Warnock Bus Tour” in Cherokee County, Georgia.
Hoping to disrupt Mr Warnock’s goal of a six-year term is Mr Walker, a former University of Georgia running back and Heisman Trophy winner backed by Donald Trump. Mr Walker’s biggest battle has been against reports that he paid for the abortions of two women despite his vocal opposition to the abortion.
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Trump reassessment continues as allies urge him to delay 2024 announcement
Some allies of former President Donald Trump have urged him to delay his 2024 campaign announcement after Republicans’ lackluster mid-term performance.
Read Gustav Kilanderis the whole story.
Josh MarcusNov 10, 2022 6:15 am
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Democrats toss $7 million in Georgia as runoff looms
The Democratic Party is trailing Georgia’s US Senator Raphael Warnock by millions as his narrow race to retain his seat leads to a runoff with Trump-backed Herschel Walker.
The Democratic Senators’ Campaign Committee is spending $7 million on field operations across the state ahead of the December campaign that will fund voter outreach and door-to-door canvassing efforts.
“We know that speaking directly to voters through a strong, well-funded ground game is critical to winning Georgia, and we are wasting no time launching these programs in the runoff,” said Sen. Gary Peters, Chairman of the DSCC, told Politico.
That’s just the beginning of the financial battle that will play out during the runoff, as both candidates will continue to seek individual donations from voters to keep them afloat.
Josh MarcusNov 10, 2022 2:28 p.m
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Promising sign from Nevada for hopes in Democratic Senate
For Democrats to retain control of the Senate, they must win at least two of the three toss-up Senate races this cycle in the states of Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, according to most observers.
In Georgia, incumbent Raphael Warnock will face Republican Herschel Walker in a runoff election in December, although the Atlanta-based pastor received more votes than Mr Walker in the general election.
In Nevada, Republican Adam Laxalt is currently ahead of incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, but some observers believe she could regain the advantage once the mostly Democratic mail-in ballots are tallied.
Josh MarcusNovember 10, 2022 2:45 p.m
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Is Trump a liability to the GOP after shaky midterms?
At halftime races across the country, Donald Trump sought to use his considerable influence in the Republican base to bolster his preferred candidates, such as Georgia’s Herschel Walker.
The former president is still nearly twice as popular as his potential rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, but the decline in popularity is notable.
Here’s more about the potential 2024 matchup between the two men.
Josh MarcusNovember 10, 2022 3:00 p.m
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Democrats are counting on black voters to ‘save the Senate’ again
Black voters have long been a core component of the Democratic Party coalition, and that has been particularly evident in Georgia in recent years.
African Americans helped send Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff to the Senate in the 2020-2021 cycle, securing Democratic control of the Upper House.
Now, as Senator Warnock heads for a runoff against his Trump-backed challenger, Herschel Walker, black voters in the Peach State said they felt the weight of the party resting on their shoulders again.
“Now it’s back to us to save the Senate,” S. Dorian Hampton, 41, told NBC News. “We did it once. We can do it again.”
Some see the added focus on Georgia as a positive, as it means politicians are finally paying attention to the state’s sizable black population, rather than writing it off as an all-white Republican stronghold.
“Our voices have power. If 2020 hadn’t happened, this race would seem like all the other old Midterms to black people,” Ariel Martin, 5, a tax attorney in suburban Atlanta, added in the NBC report. “But we recognized our power two years ago and now, despite voter suppression, we voted in large numbers because we know our votes matter now. Blacks did it, so Republicans must be held accountable.”
Josh MarcusNovember 10, 2022 3:20 p.m
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Did campaigner Stacey Abrams fail to turnout this time?
Stacey Abrams became a rising star in the Democratic Party for her persistent efforts to register new voters in the state of Georgia.
When Democrats clinched a shocking double Senate victory in the state in the 2020 cycle, many observers argued the party had her to thank.
However, when it came time for Ms. Abrams’ own 2022 gubernatorial race against incumbent GOP incumbent Brian Kemp, she couldn’t muster enough support, losing around 300,000, or about 8 percent of the total vote.
In fact, almost exactly the same voters turned out in the 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections, although Georgia’s population increased by about 300,000 votes and about 500,000 new voters were added to the lists.
Regardless of the true root of the problem, the Abrams race will surely make Democratic strategists reconsider exactly where they are going from here in Georgia and similar states they hope to turn blue.
Josh MarcusNov 10, 2022 3:46 p.m
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In a shocking turn of events, Trump blames the media for GOP shortcomings
“Unbelievable how dishonest the fake news media is,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social early Thursday. “The Failing New York Times has gone insane. So many of the people I’ve supported achieved victory Tuesday night, no one was even close, and they’re literally making up a story refusing to write the facts and only citing enemies and losers .”
“Almost all the people I’ve endorsed WON, but if you read the story of two Trump-hating authors (who only do as they’re told!), you wouldn’t even see the truth. You truly are THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!!!” Mr Trump wrote.
Gustav Kilander has the full report.
Josh MarcusNov 10, 2022 4:20 p.m
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The libertarian candidate who changed the course of Georgia’s Senate campaign
Chase Oliver, who ran for Georgia’s US Senate seat, never stood a chance of winning. This is due to our two-party system.
But the 37-year-old former Democrat had another notable influence: He stripped the votes of the two frontrunners, incumbent Raphael Warnock and his MAGA-backed challenger Herschel Walker.
Mr Oliver managed to get just over two percent of the original vote, likely preventing his Democratic and GOP rivals from securing the 50 percent share of the vote needed to win an election under the Act Win State of Georgia.
For more information on the Libertarian candidate, read our article by here Bill Barrow and Jeff Amy.
Josh MarcusNovember 10, 2022 4:45 p.m
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Curtain up for Lauren Boebert?
Along with Herschel Walker, another Trump-backed conservative is on the brink of defeat: Lauren Boebert.
By evening, the balances had leveled off at 50/50.
It was a definite punch in the pit of the stomach for the broader MAGA movement as well as for Boebert, who haughtily tweeted on election day, “The red wave has begun!!”
Sheila Flynn reports on what’s next from Rifle, Colorado.
Josh MarcusNovember 10, 2022 5:15 p.m
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Jimmy Kimmel taunts Herschel Walker for being ‘unfazed and unintelligible’ when the drain approaches
We won’t know the results of the Georgia Senate race until December, but late-night comedy taping of the contest is already underway.
On Wednesday, Jimmy Kimmel mocked Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker for the numerous allegations of infidelity, abuse, secret children and hidden abortions that have dogged the former soccer player’s campaign.
“Fleeing is also what Herschel Walker does when one of his kids shows up with a DNA kit,” Mr Kimmel said during his monologue.
He also played excerpts of Mr. Walker’s “unimpressed and unintelligible” Election Day speech, in which the Republican narrated a long, strange parable about a boy digging through a dung-filled room to find a pony.
“It’s like a riddle that a troll has to solve in order to cross the bridge,” Mr Kimmel said.
Here’s the full clip of his routine.
Josh MarcusNov 10, 2022 5:44 p.m
