Warnock answers Libertarian wildcard in Ga.; Walker skips

Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., speaks next to an empty podium set up for Republican challenger Herschel Walker, who was invited but did not attend, during a U.S. Senate debate as part of the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series in Atlanta on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Ben Gray)

Libertarian Chase Oliver isn’t going to win Georgia’s pivotal U.S. Senate race. But the 37-year-old Atlanta businessman could help determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate over the final two years of President Joe Biden’s term.

Oliver is the third name on the ballot in the marquee matchup between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker.

In most states, that make would Oliver an afterthought. But Georgia law requires an outright majority to win statewide office. With polls suggesting a tight contest between Warnock and Walker, it may not take a considerable share of the vote for Oliver to force a runoff, potentially repeating the 2020 scenario when Georgia’s two runoffs helped Democrats secure narrow control on Capitol Hill.