Candidates rally in home stretch of Georgia Senate runoff
(NewsNation) — With one day to go before the Georgia Senate runoff election, both candidates are making a final push to get voters to the polls.
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker spent the weekend urging voters to turn out in the tight race which will determine whether Democrats hold a full majority in the Senate.
If Walker wins, the Senate will be split 50/50 with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as tiebreaker. An evenly divided Senate means a power-sharing agreement between Democratic and Republican leaders, giving Republicans more room to help guide the agenda.
If Warnock wins, a full majority will mean Democrats gain control of the agenda while also giving them more wiggle room to lose votes from lawmakers who have often strayed from the party line, like Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. It would also free Harris up to leave Washington since she would not need to serve as tiebreaker so frequently.
Both candidates remained optimistic about their chances as they made their final arguments to voters. The latest Real Clear Politics polling data showed Warnock narrowly leading the race.
Georgia has already seen historic numbers for early voting, with the Secretary of State’s Office reporting several days where early voting surpassed previous records. Nearly 2 million Georgians have already cast their ballots in the race.
Democrats are winning the early turnout game, with Target Smart finding that 52 percent of early and absentee ballots have come from Democrats, compared with just 39 percent from registered Republicans.
But Election Day turnout numbers traditionally favor Republicans, giving Walker a chance to close the gap.
In the weeks leading up to the runoff, $79 million has been spent on the race, according to AdImpact. It will all come down to Tuesday as voters cast their ballots to determine the final balance of the U.S. Senate.