Midterms 2022: Georgia Senate Seat Undecided, Voters Brace for Runoff Election

Rathna Malapati

“I’m a Georgia Voter.” Georgia polling places provide stickers for voters after voting. These stickers are a sense of pride for many Georgian voters.

Rathna Malapati, Assistant Clubs Editor
November 15, 2022

As of November 9, 2022, Georgia has 98% of its votes in for its Senate election, but none of the candidates have exceeded the 50% threshold necessary to be declared the official winner.

Democrat Raphael Warnock (Senior Pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005) currently leads with 49.4% of the vote total, with Republican Herschel Walker (former UGA football player) trailing just behind at 48.5%. Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver received 2.1% of the votes thus far.

Since there has been no clear and definite winner for this election, a runoff election will take place in Georgia at the beginning of December. 

For the U.S. House Representatives from Georgia, Republicans have claimed eight seats: Buddy Carter, A. Drew Ferguson, Austin Scott, Andrew S. Clyde, Jody Hice, Barry Loudermilk, Rick Allen, and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The Democrats claimed six U.S. House seats: Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Henry C. Johnson, Nikema Williams, Lucy McBath, Carolyn Bourdeaux, and David Scott.

As for the Governors’ race, Brian Kemp will retain the governorship of the Peach State for a second term after winning re-election on Nov. 8th. He won 53.4% of the vote, in comparison to the 45.8% that Stacey Abrams received.

In the months leading up to the election, Abrams raised over $98 million for her campaign, while Kemp fundraised over $69 million. This was a drastic change compared to how much both candidates raised in the previous Governor’s election in 2018, when the total money both candidates spent was less than $50 million.

During the 2018 election, Gov. Kemp spent just $21 million, while Abrams spent $27 million.

Either way, the only outstanding election remains for a single seat in the U.S. Senate, with the runoff election expected to take place on December 6, 2022.