The Reverend Raphael Warnock (D) defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker in Tuesday’s runoff election, allowing him to maintain his position as a U.S. senator for Georgia.
“Thank you, Georgia. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to God be the glory,” Warnock said in his victory speech on Tuesday. “After a hard-fought campaign – or should I say campaigns – it is my honor to utter the four most powerful words ever spoken in a democracy: The people have spoken.”
Warnock’s win gives the Democrats a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate. He is also the first black man to represent the Peach State as its Senator for the next six years, Yahoo! News reports.
“Just called @SenatorWarnock to congratulate him on his win,” President Joe Biden tweeted late Tuesday night.
“Tonight, Georgia voters stood up for our democracy, rejected Ultra MAGAism, and most importantly: sent a good man back to the Senate. Here’s to six more years,” he added.
Just called @SenatorWarnock to congratulate him on his win.
Tonight Georgia voters stood up for our democracy, rejected Ultra MAGAism, and most importantly: sent a good man back to the Senate. Here’s to six more years. pic.twitter.com/ibx5aprVs3
— President Biden (@POTUS) December 7, 2022
Walker, endorsed by former president Donald Trump, told his supporters during his concession speech on Tuesday that running for Senate was “the best thing” he’d done in his life.
“We’ve had a tough race,” he said. “You never stop dreaming and believing in America. … This is much bigger than Herschel Walker.”
Warnock, the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, won 51.4 percent of the vote over Walker, who had 48.6 percent.
Throughout the race, both men faced controversy.
Warnock’s church was accused of evicting people living in an apartment complex over which the church had majority ownership.
Warnock is also a staunch advocate of abortion and has often dubbed himself a “pro-choice pastor.”
Meanwhile, Walker was accused of paying for his girlfriend’s abortion in 2009 despite campaigning on a pro-life platform. During a debate against Warnock, Walker said he supported Georgia’s six-week abortion ban. The ban, initially passed in 2019 but then overturned by the Fulton County Superior Court, was reinstated by the state’s Supreme Court last month.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Megan Varner/Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer. He is also the co-hosts of the For Your Soul podcast, which seeks to equip the church with biblical truth and sound doctrine. Visit his blog Blessed Are The Forgiven.
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