Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock beat prominent soccer player and Republican Herschel Walker in Georgia's Senate runoff election, bringing an important victory for President Joe Biden and his party, the Voice of America reports.

With the ballots nearly finished being counted, Baptist pastor Warnock received 50.6 percent of the vote, while Walker received 49.4 percent.

A Warnock victory would give the Democrats a clear majority in the Senate after two years in which seats in the chamber were split evenly in half, with Vice President Kamala Harris having the deciding vote in the event of a tie.

A runoff election was required by state law because no candidate won a majority in the November election.

Democrats winning the 51st seat in the 100-seat Senate means they can break their power-sharing agreement with Republicans in the chamber and secure clear majorities in committees.

They can also afford to lose one vote on issues such as approving candidates for executive branch positions and judgeships.

The extra seat could also be important in future Democratic efforts to maintain a majority in 2024, when the electoral map will heavily favor Republicans.