Democrat astronaut Mark Kelly wins Arizona Senate race as Georgia becomes key battleground

Democrats took a key seat in Arizona on Saturday, edging them closer to unexpectedly keeping control of the US Senate.

It meant all eyes last night turned to Nevada, where a late Democrat surge raised the possibility of overall victory for Joe Biden’s party.

However, if the Republican candidate prevailed in Nevada, which was going down to the last handfuls of votes, then the Senate would hinge on a runoff election in Georgia on Dec 6.

In Arizona, former astronaut Mark Kelly, the sitting Democrat senator, fended off Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters, who had been endorsed by Donald Trump and financially backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel.

Mr Masters did not immediately concede defeat, while Mr Trump claimed the result was a “scam” and that there had been “voter fraud”.

Mr Biden telephoned Mr Kelly to congratulate him on his win, the White House said.

It left the Senate on a knife-edge with each party on 49 seats, and Nevada and Georgia outstanding.

Democrats need only one more seat as a 50-50 Senate would give them control through the casting vote held by Kamala Harris, the Vice President.

On Saturday night, in Nevada, Republican Adam Laxalt held a tiny lead over Catherine Cortez Masto, the sitting Democrat senator.

But tens of thousands of votes remained to be counted in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, and was so far favouring the Democrat.

Meanwhile, in Georgia, both parties were gearing up for the possibility that control of the Senate would ultimately be decided there.

For Democrat voters the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Dr Martin Luther King Jr. took on new significance.

Reverend Raphael Warnock, the man who now holds Dr King’s pulpit at the historic church in Atlanta, is also the party’s incumbent US senator.

He will battle to keep his seat against Herschel Walker, a former American football star backed by Donald Trump.

The runoff was called after neither Mr Walker, nor Rev Warnock, achieved more than 50 per cent of the vote on Tuesday.

People milling around the reddish-brown bricked Ebenezer church, where the oratory of Dr King still rings out from speakers, could believe it had come down to a runoff.

A healthcare worker taking her lunch break outside the church said she had expected Rev Warnock to win in a “landslide” on election day.

She said: “It shouldn’t even be a runoff. It’s Herschel Walker. He probably can’t even read a book from the front to the end. Come on.”

The woman stamped her feet and gesticulated in frustration.

Another woman, who worked at a nearby trauma clinic, said Mr Walker was a “puppet for the Republicans”.

Both parties are preparing to pour in millions of dollars as Mr Walker and Rev Warnock battle it out once more.

Ted Cruz, a Republican senator, has launched a campaign bus tour with Mr Walker, while Mr Biden and Barack Obama are expected to campaign for Rev Warnock.

The biggest unknown factor in the runoff race will be Mr Trump.

Republican strategists privately blamed him for backing Mr Walker over more eloquent and experienced candidates.

Mr Walker secured far fewer votes than Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia, who clashed with Mr Trump and was easily re-elected.

Republicans fear the former president’s involvement in the runoff could deter moderate Republicans, and energise Democrats.

Two black men in historic contest

The runoff has shone a spotlight on a historic contest, featuring two black men from vastly different walks of life.

Mr Walker, 60, is a sporting hero, leading Georgia to glory in a national championship as a college football player. He later became a successful businessman.

But his campaign was rocked by scandals, including claims by former partners of abuse and secret abortions, which he denied.

Rev Warnock, 53, grew up on a modest housing estate in Savannah, Georgia. He earned a doctorate and became Ebenezer’s youngest ever pastor aged 35.

The pastor’s personal life has also attracted scrutiny, particularly an acrimonious child support dispute with his ex-wife.

He has framed his politics within Ebenezer’s civil rights legacy, highlighting racial and social injustice.

Mr Walker, meanwhile, has accused the Democrats of using race to divide the country.

Andra Gillespie, a political science professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said Mr Walker had fared worse among black voters than other Republican candidates in the midterms.

She said: “Walker didn’t demonstrate a command of the issues, he has all of this personal baggage, but yet he was put forward in part by Donald Trump as basically the supposed foil to Raphael Warnock. That’s offensive to a lot of people. It looks like tokenism.”

However, Shelley Wynter, a black conservative radio host in Atlanta, said Mr Walker’s ability to force a runoff proved he had been successful.

She said: “After six months and $72-plus million of withering personal attacks, Herschel Walker’s in a runoff with a sitting senator, an educated, smart, brilliant pastor.

“That speaks to the unpopularity of the Democrat Party here in Georgia.”