OnPolitics: How did the GOP lose Georgia? Walker, Trump influence cost Senate seat

Democrat Raphael Warnock's victory over Republican Herschel Walker expanded Democrats' hold over the Senate. Who's to blame for the GOP's loss? ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

On Politics   Wednesday, December 7 OnPolitics: How did Republicans lose Georgia? Walker, Trump and more Democrat Raphael Warnock's victory over Republican Herschel Walker expanded Democrats' hold over the Senate. Who's to blame for the GOP's loss? Happy Wednesday, OnPolitics readers! In the final 2022 midterms battle, Georgia voters gave Democrats in the U.S. Senate extra breathing room by reelecting incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock on Tuesday, expanding the party's slim majority. Warnock's victory over Republican Herschel Walker, a football star recruited by former President Donald Trump to help the GOP retake the Senate, spells out two lessons — one old and one new, USA TODAY's David Jackson and Mabinty Quarshie report. The old lesson: Good candidates generally beat bad candidates. The new one: Trump-backed candidates tend to have trouble in battleground states. "Trump is the big loser," pollster Frank Luntz said in the wake of the Republicans' latest loss in a major political race. "One by one, his handpicked candidates for Senate flopped. I can't remember a time when the environment for Republicans was so good and yet the results were so bad."  👀Keep reading: What does Warnock's win and Walker's loss mean for the future? Real quick: Stories you'll want to read • Georgia on our minds: One of the most expensive and bitter Senate contests ended with Warnock, a Democrat, prevailing over Walker, the Republican challenger. Here are five takeaways from the Georgia Senate runoff election. • Fighting antisemitism: Second gentleman Doug Emhoff denounced an "epidemic of hate" Wednesday in a White House forum on antisemitism, which the Anti-Defamation League says has reached crisis levels. • Potential 'big consequences' for elections: The Supreme Court wrestled Wednesday with a novel legal theory that critics warn could upend federal elections, while proponents insist it's needed to limit the power of state courts to overrule voting laws approved by state lawmakers. • DOJ report on mobster's demise: Like most of his prior victims, mobster James "Whitey" Bulger never had a chance, according to details released Wednesday by the Justice Department's inspector general regarding the botched handling of Bulger's 2018 transfer from Florida federal prison to West Virginia. 🦠 COVID-19 vaccine mandate no more? The COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military would be rescinded under the annual defense bill heading for a vote this week in Congress. The directive helped ensure the vast majority of troops were vaccinated but also raised concerns that it harmed recruitment and retention. Here's what you need to know.  Get our politics newsletter in your inbox by signing up here.🖅 Discover more with our newsletters: Get the latest headlines, things to do and more in your inbox. Sign up here.   Problem viewing email? View in browser Unsubscribe • Manage Newsletters • Terms of Service • Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights • Privacy Notice • Do Not Sell My Info/Cookie Policy • Feedback © 2022 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, LLC. 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22102