Democrats Take 51-Seat Senate Majority With Warnock’s Win, Angry Republicans Blame Trump

Democrats are celebrating after incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock defeated Trump-backed GOP challenger Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate runoff election, solidifying his party’s majority in the upper chamber of Congress.

Warnock’s electoral victory gives Democrats 51 seats in the Senate, providing the party with a majority that likely won’t have to rely as heavily on Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote and also allows Majority Leader Chuck Schumer more control of key committees and some slack in potentially divisive judicial and administrative confirmation fights.

The runoff was held after neither candidate was able to receive more than 50% of the vote during the midterm election held on Nov. 8.

Angry Republicans are now pointing fingers at former president Donald Trump, who they blame for Walker’s lackluster performance, and are already using the senate loss to call on the GOP to move away from Donald Trump in 2024.

Prominent Iowa Republican Bob Vander Plaats, a former supporter of Trump, tweeted that a Walker loss would be “another blow to former President Trump,” adding that “conservatives across the country are tired of losing. #2024 is key to winning the future again: #Choosewell”

Trump’s team was hoping for a win in Georgia to turn the tide and breathe energy into Trump’s lackluster third presidential campaign.

Now, many in Trump’s orbit are concerned that this loss will build momentum in the anti-Trump movement within the Republican Party and that the former president will be dumped by the party.

If this prediction by @Redistrict holds, not only does @HerschelWalker lose but it's another blow to former President Trump. Conservatives across the country are tired of losing. #2024 is key to winning the future again. #ChooseWell https://t.co/q3SWxELRhe

— Bob Vander Plaats (@bobvanderplaats) December 7, 2022