Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock has defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a runoff election in Georgia.
The victory by the state's first Black senator ensures Democrats an outright majority in the chamber for the rest of President Joe Biden's term. That means the party won't have to negotiate a power-sharing deal with Republicans and Vice President Kamala Harris won't be called on as much to break tie votes.
Warnock's win solidifies Georgia's place as a Deep South battleground: Voters here returned the Democrat to the Senate in the same cycle they reelected Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and chose an all-GOP slate of statewide constitutional officers.
Walker, a football legend who first gained fame at the University of Georgia and later in the NFL in the 1980s, was unable to overcome a bevy of damaging allegations, including claims that he paid for two former girlfriends' abortions.
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Walker's defeat bookends the GOP's struggles this year to win with flawed candidates cast from Donald Trump's mold, a blow to the former president as he builds his third White House bid.
Meet the history-makers of the 2022 midterm elections
Maura Healey
Democrat Maura Healey will be the first out lesbian governor in US history, CNN projects, winning an open-seat race for the governorship of Massachusetts. Healey, the current attorney general of Massachusetts, will also be the commonwealth's first elected female governor.
Katie Britt
Republican Katie Britt will be the first elected female senator from Alabama, CNN projects, winning an open-seat race to succeed her onetime boss, retiring GOP Sen. Richard Shelby. Britt is a former CEO of the Business Council of Alabama and was the heavy favorite in the general election in the deep-red state. Two women have previously represented Alabama in the Senate, but both were appointed to fill vacancies.
Maxwell Frost
Democrat Maxwell Frost will be the first member of Generation Z elected to Congress, CNN projects, winning the open seat for Florida's 10th Congressional District. Generation Z refers to those born after 1996. Frost will succeed Democrat Val Demings, who vacated the seat to run for Senate.
Wes Moore
Democrat Wes Moore will be the first Black governor of Maryland, CNN projects, becoming only the third Black person elected governor in US history. Moore, an Army veteran and former nonprofit executive, will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Larry Hogan.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be the first woman elected governor of Arkansas, CNN projects, winning the office her father previously held for over a decade. Sanders, who earned a national profile in her role as press secretary in the Trump White House, is also the first daughter in US history to serve as governor of the same state her father once led.
Becca Balint
Democrat Becca Balint will be the first woman elected to Congress from Vermont, CNN projects, winning election to the state's at-large district. With Balint's win, Vermont will lose its distinction as the only US state never to have sent a woman to Congress. Balint, the president pro tempore of the state Senate, will also be the first out LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Vermont.
Alex Padilla
Democrat Alex Padilla will be the first elected Latino senator from California, CNN projects, winning a special election for the remainder of Kamala Harris' term as well as an election for a full six-year term. Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrant parents, was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to the seat Harris vacated when she became vice president.
Markwayne Mullin
Republican Markwayne Mullin will be the first Native American senator from Oklahoma in almost 100 years, CNN projects, winning the special election to succeed GOP Sen. Jim Inhofe, who is resigning in January. Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Nation, currently represents the state's 2nd Congressional District. Democrat Robert Owen, also a member of the Cherokee Nation, represented Oklahoma in the Senate from 1907 to 1925.
Robert Garcia
Democrat Robert Garcia will be the first out LGBTQ immigrant elected to Congress, CNN projects, winning election to California's 42nd Congressional District. Garcia, who immigrated from Lima, Peru, in the early 1980s at the age of 5, is the current mayor of Long Beach.
Kathy Hochul
Democrat Kathy Hochul will be the first elected female governor of New York, CNN projects, winning a full four-year term to the office she assumed last year after Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned. Hochul, who previously served as the state's lieutenant governor and a Buffalo-area congresswoman, will defeat Republican Lee Zeldin.
Marcy Kaptur
Democrat Marcy Kaptur will win a 21st term to the House from Ohio, CNN projects, and will become the longest-serving woman in Congress when she's sworn in next year to represent the state's 9th Congressional District. Kaptur, who was first elected in 1982 and is currently the longest-serving woman in House history, will break the record set by Barbara Mikulski, who represented Maryland in the House and Senate for a combined 40 years.
Summer Lee
Democrat Summer Lee will be the first Black woman elected to Congress from Pennsylvania, CNN projects, winning election to the state's 12th Congressional District. Lee, a Pittsburgh-area state representative, will succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Mike Doyle.
Shri Thanedar
Democrat Shri Thanedar will be the first Indian American elected to Congress from Michigan, CNN projects, winning election to the state's 13th Congressional District. Thaneder, who immigrated to the US from India, was elected to the Michigan House in 2020 and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2018.
Leslie Rutledge
Republican Leslie Rutledge will be the first woman elected lieutenant governor of Arkansas, CNN projects. Rutledge, the state attorney general, originally sought the open governor's seat but switched to the lieutenant governor's race after Sanders entered the GOP gubernatorial primary. Lieutenant governors are elected on separate tickets in Arkansas.
Shirley Weber
Democrat Shirley Weber will be California's first elected Black secretary of state of state, CNN projects. Weber, a former state assemblywoman, has been serving in the position since last year after Newsom picked her to succeed Padilla, who was appointed to the US Senate.
Rob Bonta
Democrat Rob Bonta will be California's first elected Filipino American attorney general, CNN projects. Bonta, who was born in the Philippines and immigrated with his family to the US as an infant, has been serving in the position since last year after Newsom appointed him to succeed Xavier Becerra, who left to become President Joe Biden's Health and Human Services secretary.
Aruna Miller
Democrat Aruna Miller will be the first Asian American lieutenant governor of Maryland, CNN projects. Miller, who immigrated to the US with her family from India as a child, is a former member of the state House of Delegates. She was elected on the same ticket as Moore.
Anthony Brown
Anthony Brown will be the first Black person elected attorney general of Maryland, CNN projects. Brown, who currently represents Maryland's 5th Congressional District, has a been a longtime fixture in state politics, having also served as state lieutenant governor and in the state House and run for governor in 2014.
Andrea Campbell
Democrat Andrea Campbell will be the first Black woman elected attorney general of Massachusetts, CNN projects. Campbell, who ran for Boston mayor last year, was previously the first Black female president of the Boston City Council.
Austin Davis
Democrat Austin Davis will be the first Black lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, winning election on a ticket with gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro. Davis is currently a member of the Pennsylvania House representing a Pittsburgh-area seat. He will be elected on a ticket with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro.
