Millions in donations pour into Georgia Senate race

(NewsNation) — With less than one month to go before the 2022 midterm elections, both candidates in Georgia’s hotly contested Senate race have seen millions of dollars pour into their campaigns. It’s a level of spending that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate moving forward.

Last week, Republican candidate Herschel Walker said his campaign raised more than $12 million in the three months ending Sept. 30. That brings his total to almost $33 million since March 2021, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data.

Walker’s campaign said it’s the most money of any Republican candidate this cycle.

But that total still trails far behind Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who reported raising $26.3 million for the quarter ending Sept. 30. He’s now raised around $90 million since winning a 2021 runoff for the seat.

Warnock said he collected from more than 340,000 individual donors over the latest three-month period.

The race — which is expected to be one of the closest of these midterms — has drawn interest from donors across the country.

More than 700 San Francisco residents have contributed about $600,000 to Sen. Warnock’s campaign, the San Francisco Chronicle reported over the weekend.

On the Republican side, it remains to be seen whether Walker’s fundraising numbers will continue amid recent allegations that the former football star had encouraged and paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion. The same woman also claimed Walker is the father of one of her children.

Walker, who previously said that he supports a federal abortion ban with no exceptions — including for incest or rape — has denied the allegations.

Despite the recent accusations, many prominent Republicans have stuck with the GOP challenger.

Former President Donald Trump’s newly formed super PAC, MAGA Inc., recently spent $954,000 on TV ad buys in Georgia, according to Medium Buying, an ad tracking firm.

Two GOP senators, Rick Scott of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, announced they are heading to Georgia this week to campaign for Walker.

A Walker campaign adviser told the Associated Press the campaign has raised at least $500,000 since the candidate publicly responded to the scandal.

The current election model from Decision Desk HQ shows Warnock with an 80% chance of keeping his seat.

The two candidates are set to debate in Savannah on Friday, Oct. 14.

You can watch NewsNation’s exclusive live coverage of Walker and Warnock’s debate from 7-8 P.M. ET.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.