Senate candidates make last pitch in Georgia midterm election runoff - Reuters.com

Conservative activist Scott Presler told the group to make sure the targets of their door-knocking had a plan to vote in person on Tuesday or to submit their absentee ballots on time in the runoff between Walker and his Democratic opponent, Senator Raphael Warnock.

The early vote is expected to have leaned Democratic, political experts from both parties say, meaning the Walker campaign goes into Tuesday with a sizeable deficit.

Recent polling shows Warnock slightly ahead of Walker, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, but the difference has been close to or within the margin of error.

The surge in early voting is a sign that both campaigns have employed effective get-out-the-vote strategies, with Walker eating into Warnock's advantage as last week wore on, said Fred Hicks, a veteran Democratic strategist in Atlanta.

[1/10] Reverend Raphael Warnock, Democratic Senator for Georgia, speaks during his final midterm runoff election campaign rally in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., December 5, 2022.

It is not an insurmountable lead, Hicks said, noting that while Warnock edged past Walker in the Nov.

To excite the base, Warnock last week solicited help from the likes of singer-songwriter Dave Matthews, who joined a rally, and former President Barack Obama, who sought to paint Walker as unfit for office in a speech that went viral.

Kemp, who kept his distance during the general election, has also lent his campaign infrastructure to Walker, providing an operational boost.

In a CNN poll of 1,886 registered voters released on Friday, Warnock lead Walker by four percentage points, 52% to 48%.

During the runoff election, outside groups have spent more than $43 million on advertisements and other expenses in support of Warnock or in opposition to Walker, according to campaign finance data compiled by OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics.

That compares to the $28 million spent in support of Walker or opposition to Warnock.