Having placed a strong second Tuesday in the free-for-all special election for U.S. Senator from Georgia, appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Republican, now enters the January runoff as the strong front-runner.
In near-final results, Democrat Raphael Warnock had 31.9% of the vote, Loeffler had 26.5%, and Republican Rep. Doug Collins had 20.4%.
As soon as Loeffler nailed down second place, Collins called to congratulate her and announced on Twitter that the senator “has my support and endorsement.”
Under the Peach State’s unique law dealing with special elections, all candidates regardless of party appear on the same ballot and, if no one wins a majority, the two top vote-getters proceed to a run-off.
Given that state and national Democrats had joined forces behind Warnock, it was widely assumed that the pastor of Martin Luther King’s Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta would emerge on top of the field.
Loeffler and Collins both campaigned hard as supporters of President Trump. But Collins’ strong and gracious support of the senator makes her the favorite over Warnock in what will surely be the final Senate race of 2020.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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