Only 1 Georgia Midterm race moving into runoff

ATLANTA — After more than 2.5 million Georgians turned out to vote early in the 2022 midterm election, polling locations across the state saw a steady stream of in-person voters on Election Day.

[RELATED: Georgia Midterm 2022 Election Results]

Results flooded in shortly after polls closed at 7 p.m. New Georgia election laws allow election workers to count early voting ballots starting in the morning on Election Day, which led to some races being called faster than in past elections.

Channel 2 Action News has confirmed that Democratic candidate for governor Stacey Abrams conceded to incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp in a phone call just after 11 p.m.

Georgia’s current Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, has also won a 2nd term.

The Senate race between incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock and challenger Herschel Walker is the only race that was forced into a runoff. Under Georgia law, a candidate must get 50% plus one vote in order to win outright.

Here’s the latest:

LIVE UPDATES:

4:08 p.m.

Republican Tyler Harper will take the race for Georgia Agriculture Commissioner.

3:27 p.m.

Republican Burt Jones is projected to win in the Lt. Governor race. Republican Bruce Thompson is projected to win the race for Georgia labor commissioner. Republican Richard Woods is projected to win for State School Superintendent.

2:15 p.m.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that the U.S. Senate race will head to runoff.

Early voting must begin by Monday Nov. 28, according to Raffensperger.

For Tuesday’s election results, counties have until Nov. 15 by 5 p.m. to certify them. The state’s audit must be complete by Nov. 22 with the results certified by Nov. 25.

1:53 p.m.

John King is projected as the winner for Georgia Insurance Commissioner.

1:37 p.m.

Candidate Charlie Bailey has conceded to Attorney General Chris Carr. In a statement, he said:

“Last night, across the entire country, voters stood up and fought back against attacks on our Democracy. I am so proud of the fight we led in Georgia, and humbled by the support we have received from all corners of our state.

To our campaign supporters, volunteers, and voters - thank you for standing with me in the fight for the open and honest government that the great people of this state deserve.

Although we came up short, the fight to defend our Democracy must continue. The survival of our nation depends on it. I will never give up on that fight, and I will never give up on the fight to ensure every Georgian has an equal shot and an equal opportunity.

Now we must focus all of our efforts on re-electing Senator Warnock to the United States Senate.”

1:24 p.m.

Gov. Brian Kemp stopped by the WSB-TV studios to talk about last night’s victory as he wins another term as governor.

Gov. Brian Kemp joins Channel 2 Action News to discuss his re-election win Gov. Brian Kemp joined Channel 2's Fred Blankenship in his first interview since he won the gubernatorial election.

1:16 p.m.

Fulton County officials say they are finished counting all ballots.

12:35 p.m.

ABC News is projecting that Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock will face off in a runoff on Dec. 6.

The Secretary of State’s office is holding a news conference at 2 p.m. to discuss preparations for the runoff.

12:30 p.m.

Precincts in all of Georgia’s 159 counties have reported their vote tallies.

10:37 a.m.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene thanks supporters for electing her to another term in Congress.

10:34 a.m.

Herschel Walker sends out fundraising email in anticipated runoff election.

9:56 a.m.

Chris Carr has won his re-election for Georgia Attorney General.

Democratic challenger Jen Jordan conceded the race Wednesday morning.

9:28 a.m.

The Georgia Secretary of State website shows that 154 out of 159 counties have completely reported their results. The website shows Fulton, Fayette, Peach, Grady and Chatham have a combined 12 precincts that have only partially reported.

8:18 a.m.

The City of Snellville says its residents approved a referendum that would allow the city to issue alcohol licenses to businesses.

“The Mayor and Council will determine the process of awarding liquor licenses through a new local ordinance including the number of licenses to be awarded. When stores will be able to sell liquor will also be determined in the new law,” a city spokesman said.

7:45 a.m.

According to Fulton County election site, Atlanta voters passed a proposal for alcohol sales to begin earlier on Sundays. More than 81% of Atlanta voters said yes to it. Stores can start selling liquor at 11 a.m. on Sundays starting in 2023.

4 a.m.

The live election results shows Warnock and Walker neck and neck with 49.4% and 48.5% of the vote respectively.

Meanwhile, several state offices have not been called or conceded yet as of 4 a.m.: Georgia Lt. Governor, Georgia Insurance Commissioner, Georgia Attorney General, Georgia Labor Commissioner, State School Superintendent and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner.

3 a.m.

Cobb County voters have granted Mableton cityhood. Groups have been pushing for Mableton to become a city for the past four years.

12:16 a.m.

Campaign officials told Channel 2 Action News that the race between Sen. Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker will not be decided tonight. Staffers have been told to go home for the night.

12:07 p.m.

Bee Nguyen has conceded to incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

11:50 p.m.

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock address supporters Tuesday night as he and Herschel Walker were still neck-and-neck, saying, “We always knew this race would be close. That’s where we are. Y’all just hang in there. I’m feeling good.”

If neither candidate earns more than 50% of the vote plus a single vote, the race will go into a runoff.

11:37 p.m.

Democrat Sanford Bishop wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.

11:35 p.m.

Republican Rick Allen wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 12th Congressional District, the AP projects.

11:22 p.m.

Republican Mike Collins wins election to U.S. House in Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, the AP projects.

11:04 p.m.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has called incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp to concede, Channel 2 Action News can confirm.

10:59 p.m.

Republican Rich McCormick wins election to U.S. House in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, AP projects.

10:47 p.m.

Channel 2′s Michael Seiden spoke with a Fulton County elections official, who confirmed that all Fulton County votes have been delivered to the county’s election preparation center and that the counting could wrap up by midnight if things go as planned.

10:27 p.m.

Incumbent Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R) has been reelected for Georgia U.S. House District 11, the AP projects.

10:25 p.m.

Channel 2′s Justin Gray talked to officials with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, who said there are still about 70 counties that still haven’t provided the required 10pm data upload, so there’s still not a firm number of how many Georgians have voted election day. State officials ESTIMATE about 1 million GA votes still need to be upload.

9:26 p.m.

Republican Buddy Carter wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 1st Congressional District, AP projects.

9:24 p.m.

Democratic candidate for Secretary of State Bee Nguyen is currently addressing her supporters. Republican Brad Raffensperger, who is the incumbent, is currently leading her in the polls.

Nguyen did not concede, but told supporters her campaign would “wait for the votes to come in.”

9:14 p.m.

Democrat Hank Johnson wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 4th Congressional District, AP Projects.

9:03 p.m.

ABC News projects that Democrat Lucy McBath will win reelection to the U.S. House in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District.

8:57 p.m.

Republican Drew Ferguson wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District, AP projects.

8:53 p.m.

Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, AP projects.

8:48 p.m.

Republican Austin Scott wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 8th Congressional District, the AP projects.

8:41 p.m.

Republican Andrew Clyde wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 9th Congressional District, the Associated Press projects.

8:20 p.m.

More than 1 million of Georgia’s 2.5 million early and absentee votes are uploaded and only a small number of election day votes.

8:07 p.m.

Democrat David Scott wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 13th Congressional District, the Associated Press reports.

8:03 p.m.

Democrat Nikema Williams wins reelection to U.S. House in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press.

7:12 p.m.

Results are already starting to come in from Georgia counties.

Follow along as results come in throughout the evening HERE.

[RELATED: Georgia Midterm 2022 Election Results]

7 p.m.

Most polls have closed across Georgia.

6:41 p.m.

DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections is extending voting times until 7:40 p.m. at Lawrenceville Road United Methodist Church, 3142 Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker.

All voters who arrive at Lawrenceville Road United Methodist Church by 7:40 p.m. on Election Day will be permitted to cast a ballot, even if a line has formed.

5:57 p.m.

Fulton County elections officials said the first results they release will include early voting, followed by absentee by mail, then Election Day.

5:18 p.m.

DeKalb County election officials are extending voting times at Solid Rock AME Church until 7:39 p.m.

All voters who arrive at the church, located at 4065 Snapfinger Road, by 7:39 p.m. will be permitted to cast a ballot, even if a line has formed.

“An early morning operational delay resulted in a 39-minute delay for voters,” said DeKalb VRE Executive Director Keisha Smith. “Overall, we have experienced a relatively smooth Election Day thus far and look forward to quickly addressing any issues that might impact our voters casting ballots today.”

4:52 p.m.

Georgia precincts are processing voters in about 49 seconds, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

4:07 p.m.

State officials are projecting they could hit 2 million election day voters on top of the 2.5 million Georgians who already voted early.

2:49 p.m.

A judge has agreed to let a private courier deliver more than 100 Cobb County absentee ballots that were not overnighted yesterday after 1,000 ballots were not sent out. Voters should have their ballots by 5 p.m.

12:24 p.m.

Two Cobb County precincts will remain open past 7 p.m. after delays in opening for the general election. Hours at the Kennesaw 3A precinct at the Ben Robertson community center have been extended until 7:45 p.m. Hours at the Oregon 03 precinct at the Fair Oaks Community Center will accept in-person voting until 7:06 p.m.

12:10 p.m.

Gabriel Sterling with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office said in a tweet that the average time to vote in Georgia was around 3 minutes by noon. The longest line is in Stephens County at 13 minutes. Most polling locations have no wait at all.

11:44 a.m.

Two election workers were fired in Johns Creek about 15 minutes before polls opened after the mother and son exchanged “concerning” posts on social media. Fulton County elections officials did not reveal the nature of the concerns.

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SEE: Voters head to polls for 2022 midterm elections All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot. (NCD)

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