Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler will proceed to the state’s Jan. 5 special election runoff after finishing second in the race with Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock.
Having Loeffler and Rep. Doug Collins, both Republicans, in the multiparty, 21-candidate contest for the remaining two years of retired Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term provided Warnock, the senior pastor at Martin Luther King Jr.’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, with the opportunity to consolidate Democrats as the two Republicans split the GOP’s base.
The Associated Press made the call at 11:16 p.m. EST, with Warnock notching 32.6% of the vote, followed by Loeffler at 26.5% and Collins at 21.9%.
Georgia’s “jungle” elections require a candidate to earn 51% to avoid a runoff, and Collins conceded Tuesday night.
“I just called @kloeffler and congratulated her on making the runoff. She has my support and endorsement. I look forward to all Republicans coming together. Raphael Warnock would be a disaster for Georgia and America,” the House lawmaker tweeted.
I just called @kloeffler and congratulated her on making the runoff. She has my support and endorsement. I look forward to all Republicans coming together. Raphael Warnock would be a disaster for Georgia and America.
— Doug Collins (Text DOUG to 87123) (@CollinsforGA) November 4, 2020
While Warnock’s chief Democratic rival, Matt Lieberman, the former teacher and businessman son of 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Lieberman, also withstood establishment pressure to drop out of the race, it was the acrimonious dynamic between Loeffler and Collins and their embrace of President Trump that defined the contest.
Loeffler, in particular, drew national criticism last week for telling reporters she was “not familiar” with the 2016 release of a 2005 Access Hollywood video in which Trump could be heard bragging about committing sexual assault.
Loeffler, the millionaire businesswoman who is married to New York Stock Exchange Chairman Jeffrey Sprecher and owns the Atlanta Dream WNBA franchise, was appointed to the seat in January by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and was backed by GOP heavyweights.
Her tenure was briefly rocked by a now-closed Justice Department insider trading investigation after she and her husband allegedly dumped almost $20 million worth of stock after a nonpublic Senate coronavirus pandemic briefing.
Collins, a fourth-term congressman who served in Iraq as an Air Force lieutenant colonel chaplain, was the former top House Judiciary Republican and defended Trump during impeachment.
