The two races at the top of Georgians' ballots ended their nights very differently.

Driving the news: Incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp claimed victory with a roughly 8-percentage point lead — far bigger than his 2018 victory over Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams. While the Senate race remains too close to call, it appears headed to a Dec. 6 runoff, according to deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling.

• Republican Herschel Walker's campaign sent his supporters home around midnight.
• When Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock addressed his crowd shortly before 2am, he said: "Whether it's later tonight or tomorrow, or four weeks from now, we will hear from the people of Georgia."

Why it matters: Even in a polarized political climate, these races have happened in split screen. The four candidates ran four different campaigns. Candidates of the same party rarely appeared together. And a significant portion of the nearly 4 million Georgia voters who cast ballots appear to have responded in kind.

Catch up quick: Kemp defeated a Trump-backed primary opponent. Walker, on the other hand, is a longtime Trump friend and endorsee. While Kemp highlighted conservative policies in his primary, his general election campaign has been more moderate, focusing largely on his decision to re-open the state’s economy during COVID.

• Walker has spent more time talking about hot-button issues like abortion and "men in women's sports." He also has faced nearly a year of scrutiny and scandals.

The other side: While Stacey Abrams and Warnock are longtime allies, their campaigns too, diverged. Warnock is an incumbent who highlighted his bipartisan policy work repeatedly on the trail. Abrams, meanwhile, has been a national Democratic political star since her first 2018 bid.

What they're saying: "It looks like the reports of my political death have been greatly exaggerated," Kemp opened his victory speech.

• “We may not have made it to the finish line but we ran that race,” Abrams said to her supporters. “And we know that running is what matters.”

Of note: Abrams called Kemp to concede around 11pm on election night. In 2018 she did not acknowledge Kemp’s victory for 10 days.

What we're watching: While the two Senate campaigns appear set to turn around and campaign in overtime, some Democrats wonder what kind of fallout will come in the wake of an Abrams campaign that spent nearly $100 million but lost by a far wider margin than 2018.

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Across the state incumbent members of Congress cruised to victory in their safe seats, including Atlanta Rep. Nikema Williams (D) and Northwest Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R).

• Rep. Sanford Bishop (D) held off his opponent in the only competitive House race in southwest Georgia.

Statewide offices: Republicans appeared poised to win every statewide elected position including attorney general, secretary of state and commissioner of agriculture.

• Republican Insurance Commissioner John King, who was appointed to the office in 2019, becomes the first Hispanic candidate elected statewide in Georgia.

Mableton: Voters in Cobb County gave the OK to Mableton cityhood. Once it’s up and running, the city will become Cobb’s seventh and largest city with about 77,000 people.

Ballot measures: A majority of voters approved measures to withhold pay from indicted statewide and legislative elected officials, provide property tax relief to victims of natural disasters and tax breaks to poultry and egg farms and the state's timber industry.

While other states saw challenges to voting on Nov. 8 — Georgia's Election Day was "wonderfully, stupendously boring," according to deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling.

Driving the news: There were no apparent accounts of widespread machine failure or long lines.

• "For the most part, it's been a very quiet day," Helen Butler, executive director of the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda told reporters just before noon.

Yes, but: The effect of the Cobb County absentee ballots that weren't mailed on time remains unknown. Those ballots had to be postmarked by yesterday but can arrive by Nov. 14

What they're saying: Charles Shapiro of Atlanta set off yesterday morning with cases of water to try to test SB 202's ban on "line warning" or handing out food and drink to people in line.

Problem was, he struggled to find lines of voters at Atlanta precincts and was ultimately chased off by a poll worker — who happened to be his neighbor.

• "I have no idea why the Georgia legislature would think that a bottle of Kirkland water would influence anyone's vote," he told Axios. "Thankfully the system is running so smoothly today that no one is lined up in the sun."

We love our pets in Atlanta — and the data proves it.

Driving the news: Data from the U.S. Census shows that among major metro areas, Atlanta has the sixth-highest percentage of households with dogs.

• Nearly 750,000 households in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metro reported having at least one dog in their home. That's nearly a third of total households.

By the numbers: Of the households with pups, the majority have only one, nearly 200,000 have two and about 55,000 have three.

But what about cats? Only 16% of households in the region have cats, according to the data, which puts us ninth nationally.

The intrigue: Nearly 35,000 metro Atlanta households have small mammals as pets, nearly 47,000 have fish and about 33,000 have reptiles.

Get involved: Don't have a pet yet or looking to add more loving animals to your house? The Atlanta Humane Society has many who need homes and foster parents. They also need volunteers.

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🔌 Consumer groups and other watchdogs have begun testifying before state regulators in hearings about Georgia Power's plan to increase energy bills. (Reporter Newspapers/Capitol Beat)

❌ The Alpharetta City Council rejected a developer's $500 million proposal to turn North Point Mall into a mix of retail, offices, a hotel and green space. (Atlanta Business Chronicle)

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