top line
Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Republican Herschel Walker launched dueling attack ads this week as early voting rolls on for the December 6 runoff that will decide how much power Democrats will have over the next two years be held in the Senate.
Democratic Georgia Senate candidate US Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) prepares to speak … [+]
Important facts
Walker attacked Warnock’s character in an ad published on Monday, highlighting claims he had abused his ex-wife, along with claims that a low-income building partly owned by the church where Warnock pastors, recently Issued eviction notices to residents.
The claims in Walker’s ads are questionable: Warnock’s then-wife accused him of running his car over her foot during an argument in 2020, but police found no evidence to support the claim, according to Politifact, and while residents were issued the eviction notice According to notices at Columbia’s MLK Tower, none were actually removed from their homes, Atlanta-based NBC affiliate 11 Alive reported, citing court documents.
Warnock’s campaign, meanwhile, highlighted a number of comments Walker made in a recent campaign trail ad, including statements that he’d rather be a “werewolf” than a “vampire,” along with a writing about “bad air” in China ; The ad shows voters watching critically and reacting.
key background
Warnock and Walker will face off in a runoff on December 6 after neither candidate received the majority of votes required for an overall victory on November 8. Warnock received 49.4% of the vote, compared to Walker’s 48.5%. A recent post-Election Day poll of likely Georgia voters found Warnock to have a slight advantage over Walker, 51% versus 47%. Democrats have already won the 50 seats needed to retain control of the Senate, and a win for Warnock would give them an even greater advantage than the current composition, which is split 50-50, with Vice President Kamala Harris voting acts as a tiebreak. Republicans secured 49 seats.
Big number
181,711. That’s the number of voters who have cast their ballots since early voting began Saturday, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, in the runoff, which marks the second-highest turnout weekend in the last four major elections, Punchbowl News notes.
tangent
Warnock’s campaign has made a concerted effort to appeal to Asian American and Pacific Islander voters as voter turnout among Georgia’s constituency nearly doubled from 2016 to 2020, according to Democratic data company TargetSmart. Warnock’s campaign will run subtitled ads in Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean, Punchbowl reported. Republicans have also tried to target AAPI voters in the state — the Republican National Committee opened an Asia Pacific American community center in Berkeley Lake in September 2021. About 4.7% of Georgia’s population identify as Asian or Pacific Islanders, according to 2021 US Census Bureau data.
Continue reading
Georgia Senate race: Polls show Walker and Warnock nearly dead two weeks before runoff (Forbes)
Walker, Warnock headed for runoff in Georgia Senate race (Forbes)
The Herschel-Walker scandals: A second woman claims he paid for the abortion, the latest story stirring up the campaign (Forbes)