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Sen. Raphael Warnock’s win over Herschel Walker in Georgia’s runoff election for U.S. Senate delivered another blow to the Republicans and further strained former President Donald Trump’s grip on the GOP, prying open a wider lane for his potential 2024 rivals.
The Warnock win, meanwhile, was heralded by Democrats as they emerged with more breathing room in the Senate and the promise of a reestablished foothold in the Deep South.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York took a victory lap on Capitol Hill, praising Mr. Warnock as a “unique man” with “a great future,” and saying it is clear the country is ready to move on from Mr. Trump and “MAGA Republicans.”
“The people of Georgia are better off, the Democratic Senate caucus is better off, and America is better off because he ran,” Mr. Schumer told reporters, noting the 2022 midterms marked the first time since 1934 that the party in power in the Senate saw every incumbent win.
“Overall the American people rejected … this MAGA extremism — both in knocking down and not voting for some of these extreme MAGA candidates,” he said. “I think a good number of the non-Maga Republicans …. realize that if they follow a MAGA direction they are going to lose.”
Democrats now will hold a 51-seat majority next month, giving them the power to confirm cabinet appointees and judges. They will have more seats on committees and more leeway to pass bills through the chamber even if they lose a vote in their caucus
The majority also puts them in a position to put a check on the House Republican’s agenda and to pursue messaging bills that seek to counter the GOP’s talking points.
Within hours of the Georgia race being called for Mr. Warnock, Mr. Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social: “OUR COUNTRY IS IN BIG TROUBLE. WHAT A MESS!”
For Republicans, the Walker loss is a major setback and triggered the soul-searching and fingerpointing that typically accompanies a GOP defeat at the polls.
“When Republicans see Chuck Schumer presiding over the United States Senate, they have no one to blame but Donald Trump,” Bill Palatucci, a member of the Republican National Committee from New Jersey, told The Washington Times.
