[You think: “AT LAST!” and then the first two sentences.]

Both parties are expecting a close outcome on Tuesday in the closely divided state. After a November election that defied expectations in countless races around the country, a Walker victory is not out of the question.

But from Warnock’s first-place finish in the first round of voting to scattered polling and temperature checks of Democratic and GOP operatives, Warnock heads into Election Day as at least a slight favorite to win a full six-year term.

“I think a lot of Republicans are hoping we’ll be pleasantly surprised, but there aren’t a lot of indications out there to base that on,” said Jason Shepherd, former chair of the Cobb County GOP. “Just a lot of hope and faith in things unseen. It’s the Christmas season, after all.”

Over the weekend, Warnock had the heavier schedule of the two: On Saturday and Sunday, he sprinted to six events in various cities…

Walker appeared at two events: a tailgate in Atlanta before a University of Georgia football game on Saturday, where he did not speak, and a Sunday rally in Loganville, where his stump speech touched on everything from complaints about pronouns and critical race theory to funding law enforcement.

In a brief interview with POLITICO on Saturday, Walker seemed to mistake which chamber of Congress he was running for and also appeared to think the outcome of his race would determine control of the Senate.

“They’re not [less motivated] because they know right now that the House will be even so they don’t want to understand what is happening right now,” he said of voters. “You get the House, you get the committees. You get all the committees even, they just stall things within there. So if we keep a check on Joe Biden, we just going to keep a check on him.”

[Go ahead, tell me what he is saying there. They [voters] are not less motivated; They don’t want to understand what is happening right now. Please, enlighten me.]

There are other subtle positive signs for Warnock in the home stretch. He has dominated in fundraising and in advertising dollars spent. His campaign and outside Democratic groups have spent more than double that of their Republican counterparts…

Republicans, meanwhile, are subtly betraying a loss of confidence in their candidate.

…Kemp did not campaign with Walker the final weekend of the race.

Georgia Republican operatives have grown less hopeful in recent days. With Walker being significantly outraised and the candidate keeping a light schedule even in the final days of the race, allies are privately conceding that his chances of victory are slim.

The lack of optimism is even showing through in some of the GOP’s communications. Both Walker’s campaign and the Georgia Republican Party have sent out emails in recent days describing his Tuesday evening gathering as an “Election night party,” rather than a “Victory Celebration” party. It’s a minor difference in phrasing from Walker’s Nov. 8 election night event, but one that has raised eyebrows among party activists.

[All of that subtlety is pretty unsubtle, no.]