Election day is finally here, and the eyes of the nation will be on Georgia as two of the country’s most high profile contests come to their conclusion – or don’t, as the case may be.
If you still need to find your voting location you can click HERE to visit the secretary of state’s website.
Recent polls, including InsiderAdvantage’s final poll with Fox 5 Atlanta, show Gov. Brian Kemp with a steady lead over Democratic rival Stacey Abrams. If that lead holds Kemp’s popularity should serve as a wake for Republicans down the ticket to ride, something GOP candidates like Burt Jones for lt. gov., Chris Carr for attorney general, and Brad Raffensperger for secretary of state are all counting on. The real question though is how much will it help Herschel Walker in his contest against U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock which may well determine which party controls the U.S. Senate.
Walker has consistently lagged behind Kemp in the polls among GOP voters, but has inched up past Warnock in recent weeks. Some Republicans are crossing their fingers that an election day ‘red wave’ might push him up over the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff, which would be as expensive as it would be unpredictable.
Democratic candidates appear to carry a lead into election day, including winning the mail-in vote by a near 2-1 margin. Democrats likewise have done well turning out for early voting. But election day typically swings toward the GOP voting faithful, and that is where the races will be decided. Early voting and absentee ballots will be tallied first this year as part of Georgia’s new elections laws, so don’t be surprised to see Democrats jump out to early leads up and down the ballot before the races tighten up as the night goes on and more returns come in.
