Georgia run-off: Democratic Warnock defeats Republican Walker, expands Senate majority to 51

Warnock, a Baptist pastor, won 50.9 per cent of the votes

ITDC INDIA EPRESS/ ITDC NEWS Incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Herschel Walker in the December run-off of Georgia senate elections, thereby expanding the Democrat majority to 51 seats in the Senate.

Warnock, a Baptist pastor, won 50.9 per cent of the votes and earned a full six-year term. The run-off was required as Georgia law mandates that the winning candidates for state-wide posts get more votes than 50 per cent of the votes cast.

This will also liberate the Democrats from the current 50-50 power-sharing agreement, a procedural advantage enjoyed by the Republicans despite being a minority. The Democrats also don't need Vice-President Kamala Harris' vote to break tie votes on nominations and legislation.

Warnock's win also means that all Democratic incumbents protected their seats in Senate. The party also managed to flip the open seat in Pennsylvania when John Fetterman defeated Republican Dr Mehmet Oz.

"This election marks the first midterm since 1934 where the party in power successfully defended every incumbent Senate seat," J.B. Poersch, the president of Democrats' Senate Majority PAC, told NBC News.

Trumpism rejected

Walker's defeat will come as a big blow to former President Donald Trump as he hand-picked Walker for the Georgia Senate run. "Voters in Georgia and across the country have sent a message loud and clear by firmly rejecting GOP extremism and re-electing a Democratic Senate majority that will continue delivering for the American people," Poersch added.