ATLANTA (AP) – Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock advanced to a Jan. 5 runoff in Georgia, the only state with both its U.S. Senate seats on the ballot.
Loeffler and Warnock were the top two finishers in a crowded field that also included Republican Rep. Doug Collins. But neither was able to get the 50% threshold needed in order to win outright.
In Georgia’s second Senate race, GOP Sen. David Perdue was seeking a second term against Democrat John Ossoff. Incomplete election returns showed Perdue leading, but the race could not be called.
Loeffler, a wealthy businesswoman, was appointed last year to replace retiring Sen. Johnny Isakson. Warnock is pastor of the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached and is trying to become Georgia’s first Black U.S. senator.
Collins conceded defeat late Tuesday and immediately endorsed Loeffler after months of bitter attacks between the two over who was more conservative. Loeffler urged Republican voters to unite behind her in the runoff against Warnock.