Tag: georgiaelections

Raphael Warnock Wins Re-election In Runoff Race, Officially Closing Out 2022 Election Season

Senator Raphael Warnock has won reelection in Georgia, the Associated Press reports, giving the Democrats a 51-49 majority in the US Senate. Senator Warnock defeated first-time candidate Herschel Walker, whose campaign was beset by allegations that he paid two women to have abortions. Senator Warnock finished ahead of Walker in the election on November 8, but fell short of the majority needed to avoid a runoff. Former President Barack Obama, who had campaigned for Warnock earlier in the race, returned to Georgia during the runoff to urge voters to come back to the polls.

Though Democrats were already guaranteed to hold onto control of the Senate, the extra seat gives them some breathing room and should make it easier to pass appointments out of Senate committees. The outcome also reinforces a disappointing year for Republicans, who had hoped for a “red wave” that would give them control of both houses of Congress. The Republicans did take control of the House of Representatives by a very narrow margin. Georgia, until recently a solidly red state, is now set to be represented by two Democrats in the Senate for at least four more years. Senator Raphael Warnock first won his seat during a special runoff election in early 2021, defeating the previous incumbent Kelly Loeffler by just under 100,000 votes. He won alongside Democrat Jon Ossoff, who defeated incumbent Republican David Perdue, giving Democrats the 50 votes needed to hold the majority, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting tie-breaking votes.

Herschel Walker, a former NFL running back who played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs NCAA team, endorsed former President Donald Trump during both of his presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020 and spoke on Trump’s behalf at the 2020 Republican National Convention. Trump encouraged Walker to run for Senate in 2021, but Walker needed to re-establish residency in Georgia, as he was previously a Texas resident. In August 2021, Walker announced his intention to run for Warnock’s Senate seat. Walker’s campaign has been defined by controversy, often making comments that were later reported as false by media outlets, such as his involvement working with law enforcement. In early October, Walker fired his campaign political director Taylor Crowe over suspicions that Crowe was leaking unfavorable information about Walker to the media.

December 7, 2022
OurWeek In Politics (October 26, 2021-November 3, 2021

Here are the main events that occurred in Politics this week:

1. Republican Glenn Youngkin Narrowly Wins Virginia Gubernatorial Election

Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s high-profile election on November 2 for governor, flipping control of a state that President Joe Biden won handily just a year ago.

Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia‘s high-profile election on November 2 for governor, flipping control of a state that President Joe Biden won handily just a year ago. The results there and in other states holding off-year elections sent a warning shot to Democrats, suggesting that trouble may be brewing ahead of next year’s midterm elections. “This is the spirit of Virginia coming together like never before,” Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin told supporters well after midnight, joking breakfast would soon be served. “For too long, we’ve been expected to shelve our dreams, to shelve our hope, to settle for low expectations. We will not be a commonwealth of low expectations. We’ll be a commonwealth of high expectations.” Terry McAuliffe congratulated Youngkin in a statement Wednesday morning conceding defeat. “While last night we came up short, I am proud that we spent this campaign fighting for the values we so deeply believe in,” he said, thanking his family and supporters. Virginia will also get its first woman of color lieutenant governor, with the victory of Republican Winsome Sears, a former Marine born in Jamaica.

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2. Democratic Candidate Eric Adams Wins New York City Mayoral Election In Landslide

Democrat Eric Adams has been elected New York City mayor, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa on November 2 in a contest far easier than his next task: steering a damaged city through its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Democrat Eric Adams has been elected New York City mayor, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa on November 2 in a contest far easier than his next task: steering a damaged city through its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Adams, a former New York City police captain and the Brooklyn borough president, will become the second African American mayor of the nation’s most populous city. David Dinkins, who served from 1990 to 1993, was the first. “Tonight, New York has chosen one of you — one of our own. I am you. I am you,” Adams told a jubilant crowd at his victory party at a hotel in his hometown borough of Brooklyn. “After years of praying and hoping and struggling and working, we are headed to City Hall.” Adams’ victory seemed all but assured after he emerged as the winner from a crowded Democratic primary this summer in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1.

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3. Demcoratic Incumbent Phil Murphy Narrowly Wins Re-Election In New Jersey

Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy narrowly fended off an election challenge from Republican former State Senator Jack Ciattarelli, returns showed on November 3, a day after voting ended in an unexpected nail-biter for the incumbent.

Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy narrowly fended off an election challenge from Republican former State Senator Jack Ciattarelli, returns showed on November 3, a day after voting ended in an unexpected nail-biter for the incumbent. Murphy became the first Democratic governor since Brendan Byrne in 1977 to win re-election in New Jersey, even though registered Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by more than 1 million in the densely populated northeastern coastal US state. The incumbent struck a triumphant but politically inclusive tone in a brief victory speech he delivered at an Asbury Park convention hall to supporters chanting, “Four more years!””If you want to be governor of all of New Jersey, you must listen to all of New Jersey. And New Jersey, I hear you,” he told the crowd.

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4. In A Bright Spot For The Democratic Party, Georgia Democratic Party Makes Gains In Municipal & Local Elections

Despite losses elsewhere in the country, the Democratic Party gained a net total of more than 40 seats in the local and municipal elections held in Georgia on November 2.

Despite losses elsewhere in the country, the Democratic Party gained a net total of more than 40 seats in the local and municipal elections held in Georgia on November 2, including mayorships in Cairo, Stone Mountain, Hampton, and McDonough and crucial city council seats in Lawrenceville, Peachtree Corners, Sandy Springs, Tucker, Stone Mountain, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Kennesaw, and Powder Springs. While local elections are often immune to partisan trends and are of lower turnout, the results of the election in Georgia are a relatively good sign for the statewide Demcoratic Party in one of the nation’s key battleground states.

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November 3, 2021
In A Bright Spot For The Democratic Party, Georgia Democratic Party Makes Gains In Municipal & Local Elections

Despite losses elsewhere in the country, the Democratic Party gained a net total of more than 40 seats in the local and municipal elections held in Georgia on November 2, including mayorships in Cairo, Stone Mountain, Hampton, and McDonough and crucial city council seats in Lawrenceville, Peachtree Corners, Sandy Springs, Tucker, Stone Mountain, Dunwoody, Brookhaven, Kennesaw, and Powder Springs. While local elections are often immune to partisan trends and are of lower turnout, the results of the election in Georgia are a relatively good sign for the statewide Demcoratic Party in one of the nation’s key battleground states.

In the cities of McDonough and Warner Robins, voters elected the first African American mayors in those cities’ history, and the first women as well. McDonough City Council member Sandra Vincent told GPB News she is hoping to retain the city’s “small-town feel” while ensuring rapid growth in the surrounding area doesn’t leave residents behind. LaRhonda Patrick defeated incumbent Warner Robins mayor Randy Toms in a runoff election as well.

Congresswoman Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a statement that the results leave the party well-positioned to continue making gains in 2022. “From Middle Georgia to the coast and everywhere in between, Georgians came out in full force this election cycle to make their voices heard and demand change,” she said. “Democrats’ strong showing in this year’s municipal elections is a testament to the unprecedented grassroots enthusiasm our party has been building across the state for years — and our momentum is only growing.”

Beyond seats changing hands, runoff elections in the metro Atlanta area also signaled an end to many longtime incumbents’ terms and a new direction for Atlanta’s government. South Fulton Councilman Khalid Kamau ousted incumbent mayor Bill Edwards in the city’s mayoral race, while newcomers Jason Dozier and Antonio Lewis defeated Cleta Winslow and Joyce Shepherd, respectively, for Atlanta City Council seats. With City Councilmember Andre Dickens handily winning Atlanta’s mayoral runoff, Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore continued the streak of council presidents failing to move up into the city’s highest office.

Throughout the municipal election season, the Democratic Party of Georgia made nearly 91,000 calls and sent nearly 185,000 texts to voters across the state to get out the vote in dozens of targeted races. Candidates in DPG-targeted races flipped 41 seats in 21 counties across Georgia, while Republican candidates picked up just 6. The counties that saw Democratic flips include Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Chatham, Clarke, Cobb, Cook, DeKalb, Fulton, Grady, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lanier, Meriwether, Mitchell, Oconee, Troup, and Walton.

November 3, 2021