Georgia's Warnock, Walker among those qualifying for 2022

raphael warnock
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., listens during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing on Feb. 3, 2022, in Washington. (Ken Cedeno/Pool via AP, File)

Georgia’s 2022 election field began firming up on Monday, as the Democratic incumbent and Republican frontrunner in the state’s high-profile U.S. Senate race officially qualified to run for office.

Democratic U.S. Sen Raphael Warnock and Republican Senate challenger Herschel Walker were the top names among hundreds of candidates who streamed through the state Capitol in Atlanta on Monday to file papers, launching an 11-week sprint to the May 24 party primaries.

Warnock so far has only little-known Democratic primary opposition as he seeks to win a full six-year term in the U.S. Senate. With inflation rising, Warnock in recent weeks has been turning to a message of trying to cut everyday costs for people, including capping the price of insulin at $35 a month and suspending the federal tax on gasoline.