David Perdue waves to supporters after declaring victory in the Republican primary runoff for nomination to the U.S. Senate from Georgia at his election-night party in Atlanta on Tuesday, July 22, 2014. Perdue defeated Rep. Jack Kingston.
Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Michelle Nunn walks in the Atlanta municipal market, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Atlanta. Nunn is facing Republican businessman David Perdue in the Georgia Senate race. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans have dashed Democratic hopes to pick up a Senate seat in Georgia, putting the GOP within striking distance of taking control of the Senate.
Republican businessman David Perdue defeated Democrat Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn.
The GOP already has gained five of the six seats it needs for a Senate majority. Democratic seats are still at risk in Alaska, Iowa, North Carolina and Virginia.
The Republicans are battling to keep control of the Kansas seat held by Sen. Pat Roberts.
And Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is headed to a Dec. 6 runoff with Republican Bill Cassidy.
Kentucky Republican Mitch McConnell won re-election earlier Tuesday. He would become majority leader if Republicans win the Senate.
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original story follows:
CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY, Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) – The race between Democrat Michelle Nunn and Republican David Perdue could help decide control of the U.S. Senate, but it might not end with Tuesday’s vote.
The launch of a lengthy runoff campaign was a strong possibility as polls suggested a tight race and Libertarian Amanda Swafford playing spoiler. The winner would need 50 percent plus one vote to avoid a runoff election on Jan. 6.
Perdue was leading as the first returns came in from rural counties, but precincts in the Democrats’ urban strongholds were counting much more slowly.
At 8:31 p.m., long after polls closed, Nunn appealed to voters to stay in line to cast their ballots. “If you’re in line, don’t leave! If you were in line by 7 PM, you will still be able to vote. Stay in line!” her campaign said.
If Senate control remains up for grabs after Tuesday, a Georgia runoff would draw unprecedented attention and money from those seeking to shift the balance of power in Washington.
“People who really love America” will decide this election, Perdue said as he arrived at his election-night venue. “Honestly, I’m not talking about a party thing. I really think that’s going to make a difference today.”
Exit polls showed blacks and women clearly favored Nunn.
She won more than half the female vote after focusing on pocketbook issues, criticizing Perdue’s opposition to ensuring gender pay equity and his leadership of the Dollar General company when about 2,000 female employees sued for gender-based pay discrimination.
The race also exposed one of the starkest racial divides in Georgia politics, with Perdue winning about 70 percent among whites and Nunn winning the overwhelming majority of black voters, according to exit polling conducted for The Associated Press and television networks.
Speaking for his daughter, former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn expressed optimism and pride as he entered a hotel ballroom to wait for more returns.
“She seems to be getting stronger and stronger as we go along, which is amazing … At this stage in my campaign in ’72, when I had my hard race, I was running on fumes,” he said. “I think a lot of adrenaline is in play, but she looks real good.”
Voters were already treated to 65,000 TV ads during the Senate primary and general election campaigns, a total spend of $42.5 million. Only North Carolina’s Senate race saw more money spent on TV ads than Georgia, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Anti-Perdue ads featured people thrown out of work when the Republican executive closed factories and outsourced their jobs. Anti-Nunn ads associated her and President Barack Obama with fears about Islamic State terrorism and the Ebola outbreak.
Last year’s retirement announcement by Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss triggered a free-for-all among Republicans but an early consensus around Nunn, which allowed Democrats to spend time and money on a sophisticated tracking system that targeted people who don’t usually vote in midterm elections and might be open to a Democrat.
Other groups focused on registering minorities, resulting in nearly 120,000 new Georgia voters that Democrats hoped to push to the polls to cut into a decade of Republican gains.
Nunn, 47, the CEO of the Points of Light nonprofit, emphasized her work leading the volunteer organization founded by former President George H.W. Bush, who endorsed Perdue. She also sought to keep her distance from Obama, who failed to win Georgia in 2008 or 2012.
Perdue, 64, the former CEO of Dollar General and Reebok and the cousin of former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, emphasized his four decades as a corporate executive, saying he had the experience to create jobs, boost the economy and reduce the nation’s debt.
Nunn invoked the bipartisan spirit of her father, a moderate who represented Georgia for many years in Washington, and she blamed Republicans for last year’s government shutdown. She pledged to work with both parties to advocate for families and support pay equity for women and a raise in the minimum wage.
But Perdue portrayed her as a rubber stamp for the “failed policies” of Obama and argued that she wouldn’t be able to buck her party’s leadership.
Overall, Perdue reported raising $12 million as of Oct. 15, including contributing $2.8 million of his own money and loaning his campaign another $1.25 million. Nunn, who faced little primary opposition, raised $14 million.
There were no lines and a steady stream of voters at precincts in Statesboro, a quiet college town surrounded by cotton fields in southeast Georgia, where Sonia Johnson, a 43-year-old nurse and Obama supporter, said she didn’t closely follow any campaign.
Nunn got her vote simply because “we need to make sure we keep control of the Senate,” she said.
Joyce Baldwin, a 55-year-old administrative assistant at Georgia Southern University, said she was turned off by Perdue’s admission that he had outsourced jobs. Her own mother lost her job of 25 years when the factor moved to Mexico.
“Everybody wants to say Obama’s the reason we have higher unemployment, but it’s really because of outsourcing,” said Baldwin.
But Allen McClure, a 64-year-old retired schoolteacher, said he hopes a Perdue victory will help the GOP control both chambers and promote his conservative views on abortion, same-sex marriage and immigration.
“We have a dysfunctional Congress, period,” said McClure. “Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats have been all about stalling techniques rather than performing the functions of the government. If Republicans take control of the Senate, I believe we’re going to have more of those bills from the House voted on and we’ll have some action.”