Most votes from last week’s midterm election have been counted across Georgia, deciding races for seats in the Georgia Legislature, Governor and other state constitutional officers, and U.S. Congressional districts.
In a seemingly replay of two years ago, the Peach State held one of the nation’s most heated and pivotal U.S. Senate races – one that will not be settled until a December 6 runoff.
Federal Races
In this year’s race for one of Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats, no candidate surpassed the 50% threshold needed to win outright. As a result, Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will face each other again in a December 6 runoff.
Warnock, who won the seat in a special election runoff two years ago, has received 49.4% of the general election vote, with Walker at 48.5%. The candidate receiving the most votes in the runoff election will be declared the winner. With Democrats already projected to hold 50 Senate seats – essentially a majority thanks to the vice president’s power to break tie votes – Georgia voters will determine whether Democrats gain a small cushion with 51 seats.
After the midterms, the makeup of Georgia’s congressional delegation now sits at nine Republicans and five Democrats. The victor in all 14 races won by at least 10 points, with all 12 incumbents retaining their seats. That included incumbent Democrat Rep. Lucy McBath’s victory in the 7th Congressional District; she previously represented CD-6 and defeated then-CD-7 Rep. Carolyn Bordeaux in a primary after reapportionment put them in the same district. In the redrawn CD-6, Republican Rich McCormick defeated Democrat Bob Christian by more than 24 points to flip the district.
Statewide Races
Republican Governor Brian Kemp was reelected after again defeating Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, this time by 7.5 points. Also, in a closely watched race for Lieutenant Governor, Republican candidate Burt Jones defeated Democrat Charlie Bailey, 51% to 46%.
Republican incumbents Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger won their statewide races, with Carr defeating Democrat Jen Jordan by 5 points, while Raffensperger defeated Democrat Bee Nguyen by 9 points.
Ballot Measures
Voters weighed in on four ballot measures, including:
Suspend Pay for Indicted Public Officials – Voters overwhelmingly supported Amendment 1 with 88% approval to stop paying state executive officeholders and legislators after they are suspended from office following a felony indictment.
Disaster Tax Relief – Voters overwhelmingly approved Amendment 2, with 92% voting to allow local governments to provide temporary tax relief for properties severely damaged or destroyed by disasters.
Timber Property Taxes – With 59% approval, voters agreed to a property tax exemption for equipment used for timber harvesting or production.
Agricultural Equipment Property Taxes – With 76% approval, voters agreed to expand existing property tax exemptions for agricultural equipment to also apply to dairy and egg producers and to family farm mergers.
Legislative Races
With all seats in the state House (180) and Senate (56) up for election following redistricting, Republicans retained control of both chambers – winning 100 House seats and 33 Senate seats. The state has operated under a Republican trifecta – Governor, Senate, and House – for the past 17 years.
The victors of all Senate races ran uncontested or won by at least 14 points, except for highly contested races in District 7 where Democrat Nabilah Islam defeated Republican Josh McKay by 6 points, and District 14 where Democrat Josh McLaurin defeated Republican Liz Hausmann by 10 points.
The victors of all House races ran uncontested or won by at least 10 points, except for the following races:
- In District 48, Democratic incumbent Mary Robichaux lost to Republican Scott Hilton by 8 points.
- In District 50, Democrat Michelle Au defeated Republican Narender Reddy by 8 points.
- In District 53, Republican Deborah Silcox defeated Democrat Kelly Coffman by 6 points.
- In District 99, Republican Matt Reeves defeated Democrat Om Duggal by 9 points.
- In District 105, Democrat Farooq Mughal narrowly defeated Republican Sandy Donatucci by 4 points.
- In District 108, Democratic incumbent Jasmine Clark narrowly secured reelection, defeating Republican Johnny Crist by 4 points.
The race for House District 117 is still too close to call, with Republican Lauren Daniel and Democrat Demetrius Rucker currently separated by about 1 point.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s website provides more information about legislative races across all districts.
