Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democratic senator for Georgia, has won re-election against Donald Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Herschel Walker, securing a 51-seat majority for his party in the Senate.
Cold temperatures and a slight drizzle did not deter voters from queuing up before 7.00am, when polls opened for in-person voting with more than 1.8 million people casting early ballots — an unprecedented turnout for a run-off election.
Georgia is one of two states that require 50 per cent of the vote in a general election, which Mr Warnock failed to achieve in the midterms.
Mr Warnock's win makes him the first black politician from the Peach State to serve a six-year term and will help US President Joe Biden clear a backlog of unconfirmed judicial and ambassadorial nominees.
It could also signal Republican voters' attitudes towards a 2024 presidential run by Mr Trump. This was the last Senate race featuring Trump-endorsed candidates. Mehmet Oz of Pennsylvania, Blake Masters of Arizona, Adam Laxalt of Nevada and Don Bolduc of New Hampshire all lost their bids.
Mr Warnock campaigned tirelessly on a message of inclusion, with volunteers canvassing Buford Highway in Atlanta, an area of the city with immigrant-owned restaurants and shops, halal markets and shisha lounges where they handed out campaign literature in Vietnamese, Mandarin, Korean and other languages.
Signs depicting former president Barack Obama with the late congressman John Lewis and the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr urging people to vote dotted the city.
Mr Obama arrived — twice — to campaign for Mr Warnock as did his Morehouse College classmate the film director Spike Lee and Grammy award-winner Dave Matthews.
Tuesday night’s result closes the door on one of the most expensive and contentious races in the country.
Mr Warnock’s camp spent about $170 million, well over Mr Walker’s $60 million, according to their latest federal disclosures. Democratic and Republican party and political action committees spent even more.
At the beginning of the race, Mr Warnock was careful not to bring personal issues to the table, but his campaign has since leaned into pointing out Mr Walker's character flaws.
His campaign pointed out that Mr Walker has fathered three children out of wedlock, though he has never acknowledged them publicly — a direct contradiction of his scathing criticism of absentee fathers.
In a political advertisement paid for by Republican Accountability, his ex-wife, Cindy DeAngelis Grossman, describes alleged abuse she experienced at the hands of the former sports star.
“He held the gun to my head. He held the gun to my temple and said he was going to blow my brains out,” Ms Grossman says in the advertisement.
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Former US president Barack Obama tells rally goers at the Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia, that Republican Herschel Walker is not prepared to serve. EPA -
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Mr Walker greets local residents during a campaign stop in Dawsonville. Getty Images / AFP -
Mr Walker's reappearance comes as voters go to the polls on Tuesday. Getty Images / AFP -
Musician Dave Matthews and Senator Raphael Warnock greet each other onstage during a special acoustic performance and rally at Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta. Getty Images -
Matthews's wife, Ashley Harper, is from Atlanta. Getty Images -
Members of the Teamsters in Georgia come out in support of Mr Warnock in the final full day of campaigning. Getty Images / AFP -
A Get Out the Vote rally took place at a UPS facility in Atlanta. Reuters -
Mr Walker poses with a patron and University of Georgia American football fan at Curt's Restaurant in Flowery Branch. EPA -
Senator Lindsay Graham, former US secretary of housing and urban development Ben Carson and radio host Clay Travis pose for a photo with Mr Walker at the end of a rally in Kennesaw. AP -
Mr Warnock prepares to speak at a rally after being introduced by civil rights activist Andrew Young, seated, and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens in November. AP -
Mr Warnock speaks during a news conference in front of a mural of civil rights leader John Lewis, located down the street from the church where he is pastor. AP -
Supporters of Mr Walker say a prayer during a campaign rally in Loganville. Getty Images / AFP -
Mr Warnock alongside fellow senator from Georgia Jon Ossoff. EPA -
The AAPI Victory Fund and Mr Warnock for Georgia hosted a Get Out The Vote event to honour and engage Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) voters. Bloomberg -
Supporters of Mr Walker attend his campaign stop in Warner Robins. EPA -
US President Joe Biden takes part in an International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) phone bank for Mr Warnock in Boston, Massachusetts. Reuters -
US Senator Elizabeth Warren phone banked with Mr Biden. Reuters -
Jon Ossoff and Mr Warnock emerged victorious in a special run-off election to claim seats in the US Senate. AP -
Herschel Walker with his wife Julie celebrating his Republican primary win in Atlanta, Georgia. AP -
Mr Warnock speaks to people rallying for voters' rights on Capitol Hill in Washington. AFP -
Mr Walker, a Republican candidate for the Senate and a vocal abortion opponent, is facing allegations that he paid for his then-girlfriend to terminate her pregnancy in 2009. Getty Images / AFP -
First lady Jill Biden and Mr Warnock look on as a man is vaccinated against Covid-19 in Savannah, Georgia. AP -
Ms Biden gets a pie to-go at Green Truck Neighbourhood Pub in Savannah with Mr Warnock. AP -
Mr Walker has received support from alt-right groups across the country. Reuters -
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris talk to Mr Warnock at the entry to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he serves as pastor. Reuters -
The historic Ebenezer Baptist Church was once headed by civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. AP -
Ms Harris during a Get Out The Vote campaign event featuring Mr Warnock and Mr Ossoff. Bloomberg -
Mr Warnock raised $9.8 million in the last quarter of 2021, nearly double the fundraising haul reported by Mr Walker. AP -
Mr Walker is endorsed by former US president Donald Trump. Reuters -
Mr Walker on his Unite Georgia Bus Tour in Forsyth, Georgia, home to historic KKK marches and subsequent protests. EPA -
Mr Warnock meets Korean-American seniors on the campaign trail in Norcross, Georgia. EPA -
The special election and victory of Mr Warnock in 2020 changed the balance of the US Senate. EPA
During an interview with ABC News’s Bob Woodruff in a 2008, Mr Walker said that he “probably did it”, but does not remember. And less than a week ago, another former girlfriend of Mr Walker's came forward with abuse accusations, which he chose not to address.
But Mr Walker's campaign has made its own accusations, with one recent advertisement delving into allegations of domestic abuse and rumours that Mr Warnock's church evicted tenants from an apartment community they own.
Mr Warnock, who is pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, has denied the allegations, which have also been rejected by tenants and the community's management company.
“I don't consider myself a senator who used to be a pastor. I'm a pastor who serves in the Senate,” Mr Warnock said. “The same values that guided me to the pulpit are what inspire me today.”
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Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock emerged victorious in a special run-off election to claim seats in the US Senate. AP -
Herschel Walker with his wife Julie celebrating his Republican primary win in Atlanta, Georgia. AP -
Mr Warnock speaks to people rallying for voters' rights on Capitol Hill in Washington. AFP -
Mr Walker, a Republican candidate for the Senate and a vocal abortion opponent, is facing allegations that he paid for his then-girlfriend to terminate her pregnancy in 2009. Getty Images / AFP -
First lady Jill Biden and Mr Warnock look on as a man is vaccinated against Covid-19 in Savannah, Georgia. AP -
Ms Biden gets a pie to-go at Green Truck Neighbourhood Pub in Savannah with Mr Warnock. AP -
Mr Walker has received support from alt-right groups across the country. Reuters -
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris talk to Mr Warnock at the entry to Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, where he serves as pastor. Reuters -
The historic Ebenezer Baptist Church was once headed by civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. AP -
Ms Harris during a Get Out The Vote campaign event featuring Mr Warnock and Mr Ossoff. Bloomberg -
Mr Warnock raised $9.8 million in the last quarter of 2021, nearly double the fundraising haul reported by Mr Walker. AP -
Mr Walker is endorsed by former US president Donald Trump. Reuters -
Mr Walker on his Unite Georgia Bus Tour in Forsyth, Georgia, home to historic KKK marches and subsequent protests. EPA -
Mr Warnock meets Korean-American seniors on the campaign trail in Norcross, Georgia. EPA -
The special election and victory of Mr Warnock in 2020 changed the balance of the US Senate. EPA
