Georgia’s Senate Race Was Already Tight. Enter Libertarian Candidate Chase Oliver

Christian Hall
·4 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- A Libertarian candidate is on track to push Georgia into another run-off election for a US Senate seat, leaving control of the upper chamber uncertain for weeks after the Nov. 8 midterms.

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Chase Oliver has near-impossible odds to prevail in a contest dominated by incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, a former pro-football player. But a run-off in the race, roiled by scandals such as Walker allegedly paying for an abortion, would demonstrate the deep dissatisfaction voters feel, Oliver said. In Georgia, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote, a figure neither Warnock nor Walker currently have in polls.

“If a run-off occurs, that means there’s enough of the population that feels like both of the major party candidates or the top two candidates haven’t been as responsive as they need to be,” said Oliver, 37, in an interview this week in Tucker, an Atlanta suburb. “It’s a lesson to them.”

Georgia has charged to the forefront of American politics since Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win the state in three decades when he defeated former President Donald Trump in 2020. Two Georgia US Senate run-off elections, including Warnock’s January 2021 win, gifted Democrats the razor-thin majority that allowed Biden to pass his legislative agenda.

The state is one of seven battlegrounds that will determine whether Democrats can maintain control of the upper chamber or if Republicans grab a congressional majority. Such a sweep would stymie the remainder of Biden’s presidency, provide the GOP with momentum for the 2024 presidential election and slow Georgia’s metamorphosis into a swing state.

Warnock leads Walker, who was endorsed by Trump, 48.3 to 45 in a RealClear Politics average of polling. A recent survey from the University of Georgia for the Georgia News Collaborative showed Oliver with about 4% of the vote, enough to necessitate a two-candidate run-off that would be held Dec. 6. Early voting in Georgia begins next week.

Oliver, who said he’s the first US Senate candidate in Georgia to publicly identify as gay, works as a senior account executive at Kraften Capital, a New York-based firm serving small businesses.

His campaign platform includes overhauling the immigration system, a key issue for Republicans, and criminal justice reform that would entail ending qualified immunity for federal police officers, a measure popular among Democrats. Oliver, wants to boost small business ownership, end the war on drugs that’s led to mass incarceration and curb US involvement in foreign conflicts.

Oliver may benefit from Georgia Republicans who don’t like Trump and who see Walker as too close to him, said Charles Bullock, a University of Georgia political scientist.

“I suspect what’s going to happen is that some Republicans are going to put their vote with the Libertarians more than crossing over all the way and going with Warnock,” Bullock said.

That would culminate in a run-off that would ultimately work against Walker, since such contests typically draw lower levels of GOP turnout.

Oliver is looking to exploit other elements of the upcoming election. While Warnock and Walker remain in a tight race, incumbent Republican Governor Brian Kemp leads Democrat Stacey Abrams by a wide margin in polls.

People who support ending wars are becoming “a Kemp-Oliver voter because they feel like Brian Kemp is their choice for governor, but they feel like picking me as a choice they can feel good about and have a clear conscience,” Oliver said.

Warnock and Walker are scheduled to debate Friday in Savannah, an event that Oliver didn’t qualify for since he’s polling so low. He’s planning to protest outside of the venue, said Oliver, who is scheduled for a different debate on Oct. 16 with Warnock. Walker hasn’t committed to that event.

Oliver said he can better discuss traditional Republican ideals than Walker.

“I feel like he is unable to really articulate the principles of limited government, small government, lower taxes. These are things that are in Republicans wheelhouse,” Oliver said. “If you can’t properly articulate that, and in particular in a debate defend those ideas, then I don’t think voters are going to have faith in you.”

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