Warnock Declared Winner In One Senate Race, Second Too Close To Call

Rev. Raphael Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, will become Georgia’s first Senator of color and the first Democrat to hold one of Georgia’s Senate seats since 2004.

Ben Gray / AP Photo

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Associated Press called one of Georgia’s two Senate runoff races for the Democrat, Raphael Warnock. Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, will become Georgia’s first Senator of color and the first Democrat to hold one of Georgia’s Senate seats since 2004. The race between Sen. David Perdue and Jon Ossoff remained too close to call, with tens of thousands of outstanding ballots.

Warnock declared himself the winner Tuesday night before 1 a.m. “We were told that we couldn’t win this election. But tonight, we proved that with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible,” he said. “I promise you this tonight: I am going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia, no matter who you cast your vote for in this election.” 

Earlier that hour, his opponent Kelly Loeffler told a crowd of supporters in Atlanta that she still saw a path to victory: “This is a game of inches. We’re going to win this election.”