Republican David Perdue has won his race for the U.S. Senate in Georgia against Democrat Michelle Nunn, CNN projects. Perdue is expected to win more than 50 percent of the vote, meaning the race will not have to proceed to a runoff.
Nunn, the daughter of former senator Sam Nunn, was considered one of the Democratic party’s top recruits in a year that was otherwise expected to be good for Republicans. She and Perdue are both first-time candidates. Perdue, a businessman, is the cousin of former Republican governor Sonny Perdue.
Perdue will succeed retiring Republican Saxby Chambliss, who will have served two full terms in the Senate.
Georgia’s Republican governor Nathan Deal was reelected against another legacy-name Democrat, Jason Carter (grandson of former governor and president Jimmy Carter).
