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Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler headed to runoff election for Georgia Senate seat

Atlanta Dream co-owner Kelly Loeffler will head to a runoff in an effort to keep her Senate seat.

Loeffler — the Republican who has clashed with her players, much of the league and more in recent months — Republican Doug Collins and Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock all failed to earn more than 50 percent of the vote in their Georgia Senate race on Tuesday night.

As candidates have to surpass that threshold to win the race in the state, the seat will be up for grabs in a runoff election on Jan. 5. Loeffler and Warnock will advance to that race.

Loeffler clashed with Dream, WNBA over Black Lives Matter

Loeffler — who was accused of insider trading earlier this year — was appointed to her seat initially by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after Johnny Isakson retired due to health reasons.

She came under fire in July after writing a letter to WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert disapproving of the league’s support for Black Lives Matter — she claimed that sports need less politics in them and that the league should put American flags on jerseys instead of social justice sayings.

She attempted to clarify those statements later, but insisted that she would not sell her stake of the Dream. Engelbert has said that she won’t force Loeffler to do so, either, though the league said she is “no longer involved in the day-to-day business of the team.”

Loeffler’s players publicly called her out in a stunning unified statement, and the WNBPA called for her resignation. Players even showed up to games in black shirts supporting Warnock in August.

Though much of the sports world may want her out of power, Loeffler will head back out to the campaign trail for a few more months.

Atlanta Dream co-owner Sen. Kelly Loeffler
Kelly Loeffler will head back out to the campaign trail. (By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc./Getty Images)

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