Status: 07.12.2022 05:30 a.m
With the election victory of Democratic Senator Warnock in Georgia, President Biden’s party can expand its wafer-thin majority in the US Senate. For ex-President Trump, the result is another defeat.
In the US state of Georgia, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock won the runoff against Republican challenger Herschel Walker. This was reported by the television stations CNN, NBC and other US media based on vote counts and forecasts. President Joe Biden’s Democrats are thus expanding their wafer-thin majority in the US Senate.
Barely a month after the US congressional elections, the last vacant seat in the Senate was awarded in Georgia. The Democrats had already secured 50 of the 100 seats in the Senate during the so-called midterms in November – and thus regained control of the important chamber of congresses.
Because the Democratic US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also President of the Senate, is allowed to vote in a stalemate. With the mandate of Democrat Warnock, the party now has a 51st seat in the chamber – and a somewhat more comfortable majority than before.
More seat makes life a little easier for Biden
The first half of Biden’s tenure has shown just how important a 51st Senate seat can be for Democrats. In particular, two senators from his own ranks made life difficult for Biden and blocked several of his political projects. Above all, the Democrat Joe Manchin repeatedly stood in the way and thus snubbed his own party and the President. With the 51st seat, the Democrats can no longer be slowed down, at least by Manchin alone.
Warnock and Walker ran against each other again in the run-off after both candidates had received just under 50 percent of the vote in their first attempt in early November. According to the electoral law of the federal state, a runoff election was therefore necessary.
Warnock victory another defeat for Trump
The Georgia campaign drew a lot of attention. Republican Walker received support from ex-President Trump again shortly before the election. However, Trump refrained from a joint campaign appearance before the runoff – and instead advertised Walker at a digital event.
Trump announced three weeks ago that he would run again as the Republican presidential candidate in 2024. With his influence in the party already waning, another defeat by a candidate he supports is particularly bitter for him. In general, the Democrats had done unexpectedly well in the congressional election. They lost their majority in the House of Representatives, but narrower than widely expected.