Associated Press ATLANTA (AP) – Democrat Raphael Warnock has won one of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs, becoming the first Black senator in his state’s history and putting the Senate majority within the party’s reach.
Warnock, a pastor who spent the past 15 years leading the Atlanta church where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, defeated Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler.
Loeffler has yet to concede the race saying, “There are still votes out there being counted.”
Loeffler does not concede in a brief speech on election night, says she has a path to victory and promises “we’re going to get this done.” #GASenateRaces
— Lauren Egan (@Lauren_V_Egan) January 6, 2021
It’s a stinging rebuke of outgoing President Donald Trump, who traveled to Georgia to rally for 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. That contest was too early to call as votes were still being counted.
Trump’s extraordinary effort to overturn the presidential election is going before Congress. Lawmakers are set to convene Wednesday for a joint session, required by law, to confirm the Electoral College vote won by Joe Biden.
The typically routine proceeding will be anything but that.
The president’s Republican allies plan to object to the election results. Many say they are heeding the pleas of the president’s supporters’ to “fight for Trump.”
Trump is planning a rally outside the White House. The longshot effort is all but certain to fail. Bipartisan majorities in Congress are prepared to accept the results.