With more than half the ballots counted, runoff is razor-tight

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker were locked in a tight race for the final election battle of 2022 with nearly two-thirds of the ballots counted.

The runoff between the rivals was too close to call as key counties had yet to report final tallies. Republicans were anxiously waiting vote totals in the exurbs of Cherokee and Forsyth, where Walker must run up the score to keep a path to victory.

Meanwhile, Democrats were glued to tallies in Clayton, DeKalb and Fulton counties – the populous Democratic strongholds where Warnock is expected to make huge gains.

It could be a while, as the metro Atlanta counties are notoriously slow at reporting vote totals. But Fulton officials said they expected to have the final numbers in before midnight.

First cheers of the night at Walker’s party as FOX News, showing on huge screens, shows Walker pulling tied and then ahead of Warnock. About 60% of votes are in. pic.twitter.com/wImUiX3etd
— Tia Mitchell, AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief (@ajconwashington) December 7, 2022

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