Wouldn't It Be Nice If This Georgia Runoff Roundup Were Our Last Post About Herschel Walker?

A mommyblog can dream.

Today's the runoff election for Georgia's US Senate seat held by Sen. Raphael Warnock, and in a sane country we wouldn't be talking about how his Republican opponent, Herschel Walker, still has a chance to win. That's because in a sane country, the astonishingly unqualified Walker wouldn't have made it out of the primary; and even if he had, he shouldn't have finished so close to Warnock in November's general election, in which Warnock received 49.4 percent of the vote and Walker 48.5 percent. (We can separately discuss whether runoff elections themselves are sane , which they probably aren't.)

While control of the Senate was already decided in the general election, it would be very good for Democrats if Warnock can hold his seat, both because a 51-49 majority would allow Senate Dems more power than the 50-50 tie (plus VP Kamala Harris) they had to work with for the last two years. There's also the very tangible benefit of having an actually good senator in the seat instead of one more member of the Unfit Republican Fuckhead Caucus. Six years of Herschel Walker? No thank you, no matter how much astonishing Wonkette content it would create. We'll manage without, we really will.

Record Turnout, Rotten Reason

In the week before today's election, lines for early voting were packed, in part because Georgia's 2020 voter suppression law moved runoff dates up to December from January, resulting in fewer available days of early voting. Polling places across Georgia saw several single-day records for voter numbers, which sounds impressive until you remember that it's because so many people were trying to vote in fewer days than in the general election or previous runoffs. Total turnout for the runoff is expected to be well below the general election's turnout of four million, which was a record for Georgia midterms. About 1.8 million Georgians voted early or by absentee ballot.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes that while early votes haven't yet been counted, more people voted early in counties that went to Warnock than to Walker. That said, Republicans have made a point of voting in person on Election Day because they're (now) convinced that's the only valid way to vote. Also too, it's rainy and cold in much of Georgia today, and historically, Republican turnout in crappy weather tends to be stronger than Democratic turnout — but then, Warnock voters may be more motivated than usual to show up and keep Walker out of office. (Editrix here to remember the folks who stayed in line for HOURS in the snow to vote against David Duke in Louisiana. Hi folks!)

Unlike many years, lines at the polls appear to be short and are moving quickly, even in Atlanta, where polling places this morning were reporting no wait times. One voter in Atlanta told CNN , "I didn’t care if it was snowing, mud; I was going to be here." [ AJC / CNN ]

Big Surprise: Walker Won't Say If He'll Concede

The Washington Post is reporting that Herschel Walker ignored a reporter this morning when asked if he'd concede if Warnock wins the election.

Walker fielded several other questions from reporters, including on his closing message and the issue of character. But he walked away without commenting when asked whether he could concede “if the vote doesn’t go your way.”

Of course, it doesn't matter whether Walker concedes or not; if Warnock has the most votes, then he'll return to the Senate and Walker can join Kari Lake in pretending that elections aren't real. Maybe the two of them can start their own pretend government, even. We'd call it "Avignon," but they wouldn't get it. [ WaPo ]

Stupid Candidate May Be Stupid Close; Results May Not Be Tallied Today

Even non-bullshit polls have shown Warnock with a narrow lead over Walker, with the difference generally within the margin of error.

Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia Secretary of State's office, warned that the final results of the election may not be available by Tuesday night, saying his office was expecting a close race and noting that voters are "showing up in droves."

In Cobb County, the Journal-Constitution found a voter who said his top issue was "Abortion, abortion, abortion. I’m pro-life," so that's why he voted for Walker. If the reporter asked the guy whether he was bothered by accounts from two different women who said Walker pressured them to have abortions, it goes unmentioned. But the gent did say he likes Walker's sense of humor, so there's that: "He’s a funny guy. If they’re not going to do anything up in Washington, they may as well be entertaining."

If you're reading this in Georgia and you somehow still haven't voted, for Crom's sake get to the polls.

[ FiveThirtyEight / CNN / AJC ]

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