Schumer: Warnock won in Georgia because voters realized 'how far right MAGA ... trends now
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer waved his fists in gloating celebration from his press conference podium on Wednesday morning, where he gave a last-minute press conference to celebrate Democrats winning 51 Senate seats in the new Congress.
Democratic Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock narrowly defeated Donald Trump-backed challenger Herschel Walker, an ex-NFL star whose campaign was bogged down by accusations of domestic abuse, infidelity and coerced abortions.
Schumer pointed out that 'candidate quality' was 'absolutely critical' to Democrats' victory, both in Warnock's own profile as well as Walker's scandals and frequent awkward public appearances.
He also suggested the Tuesday runoff race should be a warning for Republicans that their part won't 'survive' if it keeps following Trump's direction.
Walker's loss is just the latest in a string of high-profile primary defeats, where Trump endorsed fringe or otherwise weaker GOP primary candidates who showed him loyalty over stronger options.
'The public began to realize how far right these MAGA Republican have gone,' Schumer said on Wednesday, noting the conservative-majority Supreme Court's controversial decisions overturning abortion rights and expanding conceal carry laws.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was in high spirits when he opened his Wednesday morning press conference to discuss his new majority in the next Congress
He pumped his fists and boasted of 'candidate quality' in discussing why Trump-backed Herschel Walker lost on Tuesday night
'About 10 to 15 percent of the electorate -Republicans who said - who are not MAGA Republicans, who are not Trump Republicans - people who said, "Well, I'm a Reagan Republican. I'm a Bush Republican, but this Trump Republican isn't for me,"' Schumer went on.
'And Independents who tended to vote Republican started saying, this Republican Party isn't me.'
Warnock's win means Schumer's majority increases by one, erasing the need for Vice
