Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia raised a whopping $17.2 million, far outpacing Republican rival Herschel Walker, whom he’ll face in the November election.
The second quarter haul leaves Warnock with a total of $22.2 million cash on hand. He has raised over $70 million this election cycle.
Walker, who is backed by former President Donald Trump and easily won the May 24 GOP primary, raised roughly $6.2 million over the same period. He has $7 million cash on hand.
Georgia, which President Joe Biden won by just 0.3% in 2020, was at one time seen as one of the best chances for Republicans to pick up a Senate seat in 2022. Warnock came out ahead of then-incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler and more than a dozen others in the November 2020 special election, but neither candidate reached 50% of the vote, sending them to the Jan. 5 runoff. Warnock prevailed in that election as well, along with Democrat Jon Ossoff, becoming the first Democrats elected statewide in Georgia since 1998.
Walker has had a series of missteps, including several policy gaffes and the revelation that he has three children that he had not previously publicly disclosed. The former football star has previously criticized “fatherless” households among the Black community.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images, Megan Varner/Getty Images
Walker, who enjoyed not only Trump’s support but has also been endorsed by Republican leadership in Washington, recently announced the hiring of veteran Republican operatives to help bolster his campaign, including 2012 Mitt Romney communications director Gail Gitcho, GOP operative Brett O’Donnell, and Georgia GOP operative Chip Lake, CBS News has confirmed.
A Quinnipiac poll last month showed Warnock with a 10-point lead but a recent survey this month, by the progressive group Data for Progress, showed the race in a statistical dead heat.
With the Senate divided 50-50, every race can play a defining role in determining which party will win control. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, whose seat is also a target for the GOP, said Tuesday that he had raised $13.6 million.
Arizona’s primaries will be held on Aug. 2.
