Democrat Raphael Warnock has been declared the winner of one of the runoff elections in Georgia, defeating incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler.
Warnock is the first Black person elected to represent Georgia in the Senate and will be only one of three Black people in the Senate once his term begins.
His win placed Democrats on the cusp of regaining the majority of Senate. The other Democrat Jon Ossoff is leading Sen. David Perdue with votes left to be tallied from heavily democratic counties.
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He declared victory shortly after midnight on Wednesday.
“We were told that we couldn’t win this election, but tonight we proved that with hope, hard work, and with the people by our side anything is possible,” Warnock said. “Georgia, I am honored by the faith you’ve shown in me. I promise you this tonight, I’m going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia.”
Warnock will serve in the seat until 2022 and will be up for reelection during the 2022 midterms.
