Raphael Warnock

The Racist Origins of Georgia's Runoff System

by Steven F. Lawson

Runoff elections were installed in Georgia to ensure that Black voters could not elect their preferred candidates, allowing white voters a second chance to consolidate support around white candidates. 

After Winning as An Activist Preacher, Can Warnock Win Again as an Effective Pragmatist?

After winning a close special election, Raphael Warnock needs to find a way to notch small victories in a nearly deadlocked Senate as he seeks election to a full term. 

‘This Is Jim Crow in New Clothes’: Raphael Warnock's First Senate Speech

by Jamelle Bouie

Raphael Warnock's debut speech in the Senate connected the passage of voting rights legislation today and the climate of debate over the Reconstruction era Civil Rights Act of 1875. 

How Alvin the Beagle Helped Usher in a Democratic Senate

On the surface, Raphael Warnock's campaign ads featured a cute beagle. But they reflected a calculated – and successful – effort to counter racial dynamics in Georgia politics to bring about a historic victory. 

Georgia’s New Senators will Write the Next Chapter in Black-Jewish Relations

by Jeff Melnick

The history of the Leo Frank trial and lynching shows that, while both groups have faced prejudice and discrimination, "the glory of Black-Jewish relations has always been more aspirational than achieved." Georgia's two new senators have a chance to advance a coalition for progress and equity.

Warnock’s Election Reminds Us that Black Churches are Vital to Democratic Success

by Robert Greene II

Democratic politicians must recognize the historical role of Black churches not just as gathering places where visiting politicians may speak to voters, but as organizing spaces where political agendas are formed. Dems who wish to emulate Rev. Warnock's victory need to embrace Black churches in a deep way.

Historical Rhetoric Resurfaced in Georgia's Runoff Election

by Alicia K. Jackson

Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock didn't just defeat their Republican opponents on January 5, they defeated a number of racist tropes that have characterized Georgia politics since Reconstruction. 

'Another Milestone in the Long, Long Road.' Rev. Raphael Warnock's Georgia Senate Victory Made History in Multiple Ways

by Olivia B. Waxman

Historians including Adam Domby and Kali Nicole Gross relate the symbolic and political significance of Rev. Raphael Warnock's victory in Georgia's senate runoff. But that history suggests gains in Black political power will face backlash, warns Carol Anderson. 

Will the Democrats Win in Georgia?

by Jason Sokol

Eugene Talmadge served three terms as Georgia's governor through a combination of racism, attacks on government, and a state electoral system that grossly overrepresented rural whites. The January 5 runoff will test whether at least one of those dynamics has changed in Georgia politics. 

Ebenezer Baptist: MLK’s Church Makes New History In Georgia’s Senate Runoff

Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church was an incubator of the fight for voting rights; its current pastor seeks election as Georgia's U.S. Senator.

Black Southerners are Wielding Political Power that was Denied their Parents and Grandparents

While the voter mobilization efforts that tipped Georgia's senate races to the Democrats have been much-discussed, they capitalized on a long-term shift in the Black population to the urban and suburban south, a "reverse great migration" that will be politically consequential for years to come.