Check back throughout the evening for updates about these important races in Georgia. Up-to-the-minute results powered by DDHQ are below. For all races across the U.S., click here.
UPDATE, 11:29 a.m.: Lt. Gov. Elect Burt Jones released a statement:
What a great win! Jan and I are so grateful to the people of Georgia for their vote of confidence, and I am truly honored to be the next Lieutenant Governor of the great state of Georgia. Our campaign was successful because we ran a positive, truthful campaign focused on the issues that Georgians truly care about. Working together, we’re going to deliver exactly what we campaigned on by cutting our state income tax and putting money back into the pockets of hardworking Georgians, improving our K-12 education system by empowering parents and teachers, standing with our law enforcement to reduce crime and protect Georgia families, and creating more opportunities for every person across our state.
Last but not least, thank you to everyone who volunteered for our campaign, who supported us, and who voted for us to make this win a reality. And for those who didn’t vote for me–I promise to work every day to earn your support too. It’s a great day for the state of Georgia, and we’re going to work every day as your next Lieutenant Governor to keep making Georgia the best state to live, work and raise a family!
UPDATE, 11:18 p.m.: Fox News finally called the governor’s race for Brian Kemp and is reporting that Stacey Abrams has conceded.
UPDATE, 11:16 p.m.: DDHQ is calling the secretary of state race for Brad Raffensperger (R).
UPDATE, 9:30 p.m.: DDHQ is calling the governor’s race for Brian Kemp.
Decision Desk HQ projects Brian Kemp (R) re-elected governor in Georgia.#DecisionMade: 9:30pm EST
Watch our livestream: https://t.co/94KbTlKwRz pic.twitter.com/zo2miMxdpX
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 9, 2022
Original article:
Political pundits and crystal ball gazers have fixed their eyes on Georgia for months now. The depressed Republican voter turnout in the January 2021 Senate runoff, which led to the election of Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock (both D), and Stacey Abrams’ constant grievance-mongering after losing the governor’s race in 2018 have led some prognosticators to believe that Georgia is a purple or blue state.
The reality this year is that, as my PJ Media colleague and fellow Georgia resident Stacey Lennox recently pointed out, “It seems the smart money is on Georgia returning its status to a reliably red state,” in spite of Abrams’ prediction that the Peach State would go completely blue by 2022.
Instead, Georgia looks like ground zero for the red wave in a lot of ways. Here’s the lay of the land in Georgia on Election Day.
Governor and other statewide races
Republican Brian Kemp barely squeaked by Stacey Abrams in the 2018 gubernatorial election. Abrams even refused to concede her loss and spent the next four years milking her grievances over losing the last election.
Kemp has a solid record in his first term as governor. He was the first governor to reopen his state after the initial COVID-19 wave, and he has continued to advocate for policies that help Georgia’s economy and bring jobs to the Peach State. He became a lightning rod for controversy when he chose to abide by the state’s constitution and refused to step in to invalidate the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump tapped former senator David Perdue to primary Kemp, but the governor decimated Perdue.
Abrams, on the other hand, has made a series of unforced errors that continually prove that she’s out of touch with Georgia voters. From calling sheriffs racist for supporting Kemp to appearing onstage with a pro-abortion sign at a Lizzo concert to wearing the opposing team’s colors on MSNBC on a Georgia Bulldogs football Saturday, Abrams has made herself look like a less viable option to most voters. As a result, polling has trended in Kemp’s favor for months.
Related: Is This the REAL Reason Dems in Georgia Are Tanking?
The general red wave and Kemp’s formidable coattails are helping other statewide Republican candidates, but the GOP has a particularly strong slate of candidates. Burt Jones, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor, represents the future of Georgia Republican politics, while Insurance Commissioner John King, a Kemp appointee, looks to become the first Hispanic candidate to win statewide office. Chris Carr and Brad Raffensperger should cruise to reelection as attorney general and secretary of state, respectively.
Senate
The campaign for Senate has been one of the scrappiest and most expensive campaigns in a long time. Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock won the seat in a special election to fill the term vacated by the late Johnny Isakson, who retired for health reasons in 2019 (he passed away in 2021). Depressed Republican turnout in the runoff between Warnock and then-incumbent Kelly Loeffler, who was Isakson’s appointed replacement, led to a Warnock win.
Fast forward to this year, and Warnock is back up for election to a full term. On the Republican side, Georgia Bulldogs football legend Herschel Walker emerged at the top of an impressive list of candidates, winning the primary largely on name ID. The press quickly labeled Walker a “bad candidate,” and his campaign team wasn’t doing him any favors.
Walker shook up his team and started to make waves, as well as revealing himself to be a better candidate than some thought he was. A strong debate performance helped his chances, and Warnock and other Democrats slung dirty allegations at Walker, some of which the football star admitted to, while he denied others. None of the accusations seemed to hurt Walker with his fans, and enthusiasm for Walker in the last few weeks of the race has been palpable.
It’s one of the tightest races in the nation, and it’s been fascinating to watch.
House
The Republican-led General Assembly has drawn Georgia’s districts in a way that makes most of them safe for one party or another. Georgia’s House delegation will remain largely unchanged, with a couple of notable exceptions. Rep Lucy McBath (D), who currently represents the 6th district, has moved to the more Democrat-friendly 7th district, where she defeated incumbent Carolyn Bourdeaux in the primary. Dr. Rich McCormick is expected to flip the 6th to the GOP, while Republican Mike Collins should cruise to victory in the open 10th district seat.
The one to watch is the 2nd district in the southwestern corner of the state. It’s been a safe Democrat district, solidly blue since 1875, but GOP candidate Chris West may flip the seat away from 30-year Rep. Sanford Bishop (D).
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