Warnock wins Georgia Senate seat
ATLANTA: Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two United States Senate runoffs, becoming his state’s first black senator and putting the Senate majority within the Democrats’ reach.
A pastor who has spent 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King preached, Warnock defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler.
It was a stinging rebuke to outgoing President Donald Trump, who made one of his final trips in office to Georgia to rally his base behind Loeffler and the Republican running for the other seat, David Perdue.
The focus now shifts to the second race between Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. If Ossoff wins, Democrats will have complete control of Congress, strengthening Presidentelect Joe Biden’s standing as he prepares to take office on January 20.
Warnock’s victory is considered a symbol of a striking shift in Georgia’s politics as the swelling number of diverse, collegeeducated voters flex their power in the heart of the Deep South.
It marks the end of nearly two decades in which Democrats have been shut out of statewide office and follows Biden’s victory in November, when he became the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state since 1992. Warnock (51) acknowledged his improbable victory in a message to supporters yesterday, citing his family’s experience with poverty.
‘‘The other day, because this is America, the 82yearold hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United
States senator,’’ he said.
‘‘Tonight, we proved with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.’’
Loeffler refused to concede in a brief message to supporters shortly after midnight local time.
‘‘We’ve got some work to do here. This is a game of inches. We’re going to win this election,’’ Loeffler, a 50yearold former businesswoman who was appointed to the Senate less than a year ago by the state’s governor, said.
She remains a Georgia senator until the results are finalised, and said she would return to Washington to join a small group of senators planning to challenge Congress’ vote to certify Biden’s victory.
‘‘We are going to keep fighting for you,’’ Loeffler said.
‘‘This is about protecting the American dream.’’
Georgia’s other runoff election pitted Perdue, a 71yearold former business executive who held his Senate seat until his term expired on Monday, against Ossoff, a former congressional aide and journalist.
The race was extremely close and no winner had been declared by the time of publication.
Trump’s false claims of voter fraud cast a dark shadow over the runoff elections, which were held only because no candidate hit the 50% threshold in the general election. He attacked the state’s election chief on the eve of the election and raised the prospect that some votes might not be counted even as votes were being cast.
Republican state officials on the ground reported no significant problems. — Reuters
❛ The other day, because this is America, the 82yearold hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton picked her youngest son to be a United States
senator