Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock’s narrow reelection win in Georgia’s runoff puts a historically Republican state up for grabs in 2024, giving President Joe Biden an early opening in his bid for a second term.
Warnock defeated GOP challenger and former football star Herschel Walker late Tuesday, giving Democrats a crucial 51-49 majority and a cushion on close votes where senators like Joe Manchin of West Virginia might break party ranks.
Yet the win will have a far more lasting and significant effect on future elections, starting with the presidential race of 2024. It means Republicans will be forced to spend millions in a former bastion turned battleground. Moreover, it offers Democrats a blueprint for other states, like North Carolina, where President Donald Trump edged Biden by 1.4 percentage points in 2020.
