Raphael Warnock
Raphael WarnockReuters

Raphael Warnock is projected to win the runoff race in Georgia’s special election to fill a US Senate seat, according to estimates by NBC News Wednesday morning.

With 98% of the vote counted, Warnock currently leads Republican Kelly Loeffler by 40,575, with 50.46% of the vote, or 2,213,995 ballots to Loeffler’s 49.54%, or 2,173,420 votes.

Warnock, a 51-year-old Baptist pastor, has amassed greater leads over his rival than both Joe Biden's edge in Georgia over Trump in the November 2020 presidential race, as well as fellow Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff.

Ossoff, who faces incumbent Republican Senator David Perdue, now holds a razor-thin lead over Perdue, with 2,195,441 votes or 50.04%, to Perdue’s 2,191,881, or 49.96%.

With the US Senate currently led by Republicans, with 50 seats to the Democrats' 48, Republicans can maintain control of the upper chamber so long as at least one of the party's two candidates wins.

If Democrats win both runoff votes, however, the Senate will be tied at 50-50, allowing Kamala Harris to use her tie-breaking vote to give control of the upper chamber to Democrats.