Republican David Perdue wins Georgia Senate race, crushing last Democratic hope for gains

Republican businessman David Perdue has won the open Senate seat in Georgia — cutting off the last opportunity for Democrats to try to snatch a seat away from the GOP side.

With 77 percent of the vote reporting, Perdue has 55 percent of the vote, against Democratic nominee Michelle Nunn with 43 percent of the vote, plus 2 percent for the Libertarian candidate. Perdue has been projected as the winner by multiple news outlets including CBS News, NBC News, and ABC News. Perdue is a cousin of former Gov. Sonny Perdue (R), while Nunn is the daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn (D).

Most importantly, Perdue is winning with over 50 percent of the vote. Under Georgia state law, a runoff is called if no candidate has received an outright majority of the vote. (This is similar to Louisiana, where Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu is headed to a runoff against her Republican opponent.)

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Democrats have now failed to win any of the two main seats they hoped to pick up, Georgia and Kentucky. In addition, GOP Sen. Pat Roberts has been re-elected in Kansas, against an Independent challenger whom Democrats had openly hoped would caucus with them in the Senate.