ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s runoff victory proved that a consequential bloc of Georgia voters won’t habitually back a candidate just because of party affiliation, a maverick streak that could redefine the state’s role in the next race for the White House.
Had Warnock lost Tuesday’s runoff to Republican Herschel Walker, Georgia’s vote for President Joe Biden in 2020 and Democratic sweeps of the 2021 runoffs might be seen as more of a fluke than a flip.
But Warnock’s roughly three-point triumph not only deprives Republicans of a clean sweep of statewide races, it ensures Democrats hold both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats the next four years even as the GOP retains its control over every other state office.
