What changed in US Senate runoff? Small gains for Warnock across Georgia

Warnock picks up percentage points in most counties

The runoff for U.S. Senate mostly mirrored the general election, with a key difference: Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock won a bit more of the vote in almost every county.

Warnock gained ground against Republican Herschel Walker in almost every county since the first election four weeks ago, according to preliminary results.

Warnock’s support grew in 148 of Georgia’s 159 counties, including both rural Republican-leaning areas and Democratic bastions in metro areas.

Supporters of Democrat Raphael Warnock campaigned at the C.T. Martin Natatorium and Recreation Center on Dec. 6, 2022. (John Spink / John.Spink@ajc.com)

Credit: John Spink / AJC

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Credit: John Spink / AJC

For example, Warnock won 77% of the vote in Fulton County compared to 74% in the general election.

A similar trend could be seen in smaller counties such as Chattahoochee in southwest Georgia, where Warnock made inroads in the runoff by gaining 48% of the vote compared to 45% in the initial election.

Overall, the voting trend for each candidate was consistent in both conservative and liberal parts of Georgia.

Warnock won a little more of the vote, and Walker received a slightly less.

In a close race, with neither candidate achieving a majority in the general election, a few percentage points of change in a wide variety of counties made the difference.