On Wednesday Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that the Senate race between Democrat incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker will move into a run-off race. Neither candidate met the required 50% of total votes cast so now there will be a run-off election held on December 6. With 98% of the votes counted, Warnock is up over Walker by less than one percent – 49.4% to 48.5%.

Campaign activities started immediately from both candidates. Raphael Warnock went straight for campaign contributions as he tweeted out the news.

We're going to a runoff, Georgia! Let's do this one more time! https://t.co/igU2tj1omc

— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) November 9, 2022

Warnock is a strong fundraiser, and a majority of his campaign contributions come from out-of-state donors. Herschel Walker’s most recent FEC filing shows his total from 3/17/2021 to 10/19/2022 as $37,781,780.84.

Biden’s handlers were right to keep him off the campaign trail and instead to allow Jill Biden and Barack Obama to do some get-out-the-vote heavy lifting toward the end of the campaign season. Biden finds success when he stays out of the public’s view. Hidin’ Biden is best kept in a basement in Delaware or in the White House instead of on the campaign trail. Jill Biden and Barack Obama both held rallies for Warnock and Stacey Abrams in Georgia, yet the incumbent senator still didn’t crack that 50% mark. That doesn’t bode well for him. Unfortunately, though, Walker underperformed on Election Day and Georgia voters split their tickets by casting votes for Republican incumbent Governor Brian Kemp and for Democrat incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock. As illogical the pairing of those two candidates seems to most of us, Georgia voters went with incumbent politicians rather than wade into the drama of the Senate race. Walker focused on culture issues while Warnock focused more on his alleged successes in Washington for Georgians. He did ok for himself, too, during his brief first term in D.C. – he doubled his personal income.

So, what needs to happen for a Walker victory is Republican voters and Independent voters have to get out and vote for him. Run-off elections are notorious for small turn-outs but this race will likely determine the majority in the Senate. Since Warnock couldn’t close the deal in the general election, as an incumbent with more than adequate financial support and support from big-name Democrats, even a former president, then he is vulnerable. Incumbent U.S. senators overwhelmingly won reelection on Tuesday but Warnock did not. It is Walker’s victory for the taking.

Here is what I think. Hear me out. I think that Donald Trump should stay out of Georgia and let Governor Kemp help him win the run-off. Kemp is very popular in Georgia and is coming off a solid win in his re-election race. He trounced Stacey Abrams. Donald Trump has the baggage of the whole reason Georgia turned blue in 2020 with two Democrat senators. Republican voters stayed home, with the encouragement of Trump, and didn’t vote for their party’s candidates in the run-off races from the 2020 elections. So, Georgia got Warnock and Jon Ossoff as senators. Trump is still popular in Georgia but not as much as he was in 2020. Despite Trump’s desire for fellow Republican Kemp’s defeat in 2020, Kemp won. There’s bad blood still there. Trump should avoid the drama and let Kemp get voters to the polls.

Also, Governor DeSantis can play a big role in Walker’s run-off campaign. If they are smart, they’ll get DeSantis to do a rally or two for Herschel and get big, enthusiastic crowds revved up. Walker’s campaign should take advantage of DeSantis’ popularity. That’s my opinion. I’m not a Never-Trump Republican but I am ready for a change. Trump’s time has passed as leader of the GOP. Trump makes it all about himself and voters are ready to move on from his 2020 loss. Elections are about the future, not the past.

Senator Lindsey Graham is doing interviews on Fox in support of Walker and talking about the importance of immediate support for Walker. He promotes Walker’s website for fundraising. The Georgia Senate race was one of the most expensive races in the 2022 midterm cycle. Graham is driving home the message that Republicans and Independents must come together and commit to voting in this race to push Walker over the top. He’ll be on the campaign trail with Walker.

Senator Ted Cruz is the first senator to jump into this run-off race to campaign with Walker.

Some news – Ted Cruz is heading to GA tomorrow to campaign for Herschel Walker, per person familiar. First GOP surrogate going into the state ahead of next month’s runoff; sure to be more

— Alex Isenstadt (@politicoalex) November 9, 2022

Senator Cruz will campaign today in Georgia.

Cruz announced on Twitter that he will appear alongside Walker on Thursday at a bus tour stop in Canton, Ga., which is located about 40 miles north of Atlanta.

Georgia, join @HerschelWalker and me TOMORROW at 6:30pm at The Mill at Etowah in Canton! pic.twitter.com/kepBvsZ07j

— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) November 9, 2022

Let’s hope Republicans rally around Walker and help him take out Warnock, who votes 100% of the time for Lyin’ Biden’s agenda in Washington. It’s time to flip the Senate and make Biden the lamest of lame ducks.

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