Runoff watch: Warnock doubles up Walker’s fundraising haul 

Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock raised $52.2 million for his re-election between Oct. 20 through Nov. 16, more than doubling the fundraising total of his opponent, Republican Herschel Walker.

Warnock, the top fundraising federal candidate of the 2022 election cycle by a long-shot, spent $39.2 million over the same period, which almost doubled Walker's spend too. The incumbent closed the period with $29.7 million banked away.

Walker still raised a significant amount over that fundraising period — $20.9 million. His campaign spent $16.5 million and closed with $9.8 million on hand.

While the fundraising period includes both portions before and after Election Day, the reports (filed last week around the Thanksgiving holiday) shed light on how both campaigns have been fundraising and spending ahead of next week's pivotal runoff.

If you’re just getting read back in after the holiday week, here are a few other headlines you may have missed ahead of next week’s runoff: 

• CNN is reporting that Walker took the homestead tax exemption, which is for primary residences, on his Texas home as recently as this year. The outlet says Walker’s campaign didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment. 
• Early voting began Saturday after the state Supreme Court denied the state GOP’s push to block it. The state Republican Party had claimed a recently passed elections law banned early voting so close to a holiday (in this case Thanksgiving). And election officials are encouraging early voting in person over voting by mail since mail ballots must be received before the polls close next week. 
• And fans of the 2020 Senate races in Georgia will be pleased to know that Alvin the beagle is back in Warnock’s ads, while Walker’s campaign is up with a new spot questioning the senator’s “character.”