Raphael Warnock

The Reverend
Raphael Warnock
Official portrait, 2021
United States Senator
from Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 20, 2021
Serving with Jon Ossoff
Preceded byKelly Loeffler
Personal details
Born
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock

(1969-07-23) July 23, 1969 (age 55)
Savannah, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Oulèye Ndoye
​
​
(m. 2016; div. 2020)​
Children2
Residence(s)Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
EducationMorehouse College (BA)
Union Theological Seminary (MDiv, MPhil, PhD)
Occupation
  • Politician
  • pastor
  • minister
WebsiteSenate website
Personal
ReligionChristian
DenominationBaptist (Progressive National Baptist Convention)
Organization
ChurchEbenezer Baptist Church
Senior posting
PostSenior pastor (2005–present)
Raphael Warnock's voice
Raphael Warnock speaks in support of the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court
Recorded April 7, 2022

Raphael Gamaliel Warnock[1] (/ˈrɑːfiɛl ˈwɔːrnɒk/ RAH-fee-el WOR-nok; born July 23, 1969) is an American Baptist pastor and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.[2][3]

Warnock was the senior pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church from 2001 to 2005.[4] He came to prominence in Georgia politics as a leading activist in the campaign to expand Medicaid in the state under the Affordable Care Act. On January 30, 2020, he announced his candidacy in Georgia's 2020 United States Senate special election, seeking to unseat incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler.[5] No candidate received a majority of the vote on election day, so Warnock faced Loeffler again in a January 5, 2021, runoff election, which he won by more than 93,000 votes.[6] With Warnock's win and Jon Ossoff's victory in the concurrent regularly scheduled election, Democrats won control of the Senate for the first time since 2015.[7][8][9]

Warnock and Ossoff are the first Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia since Zell Miller in 2000.[10][11] Warnock is the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate, and the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from a Southern state.[12][13][14] He was reelected to a full term in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Herschel Walker.

  1. ^ "Sen. Raphael Warnock - D Georgia, In Office - Biography | LegiStorm". www.legistorm.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  2. ^ Brack, Naomii (November 19, 2020). "Raphael G. Warnock (1969- )". BlackPast.org. Archived from the original on August 4, 2022. Retrieved August 3, 2022.
  3. ^ Bowman, Bridget (November 23, 2022). "Warnock launches direct-to-camera Thanksgiving ad". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved November 24, 2022.
  4. ^ Fausset, Richard (November 1, 2020). "Can Raphael Warnock Go From the Pulpit to the Senate?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on November 1, 2020.
  5. ^ Rogers, Alex (January 30, 2020). "Rev. Raphael Warnock enters US Senate race in Georgia | CNN Politics". CNN. Archived from the original on February 20, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  6. ^ Wise, Alana (January 6, 2021). "Democrat Raphael Warnock Wins Georgia Runoff". NPR. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  7. ^ Walsh, Deirdre; Snell, Kelsey (January 6, 2021). "Democrats Take Control Of Senate With Twin Georgia Victories". NPR. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 16, 2022.
  8. ^ Walker, Amara; Morris, Jason; Kallingal, Mallika (January 8, 2021). "Brad Raffensperger intends to certify results of Georgia's Senate runoffs by January 20". CNN. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  9. ^ Peebles, Will (January 4, 2021). "Georgia runoff Senate races: When will we know the winners? Could there be a second runoff?". Savannah Morning News. Archived from the original on January 6, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  10. ^ Williams, Ross (January 11, 2021). "Record turnout among Black voters helped Democrats claim Senate". Georgia Recorder. Archived from the original on January 14, 2021. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Relman, John L. Dorman, Eliza. "Georgia voters will decide which party controls the Senate in 2 unusual runoff races in January". Business Insider. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Martin, Jonathan; Fausset, Richard (January 6, 2021). "Warnock beats Loeffler in Georgia Senate race". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021. The victory is a landmark breakthrough for African-Americans in politics. Mr. Warnock becomes the first Black Democrat to be elected to the Senate from the Deep South since reconstruction.
  13. ^ Beaumont, Peter (January 6, 2021). "Why Raphael Warnock was elected Georgia's first black US senator". the Guardian. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  14. ^ Waxman, Olivia (January 7, 2021). "'Another Milestone in the Long, Long Road.' Rev. Raphael Warnock's Georgia Senate Victory Made History in Multiple Ways". Time. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022.