{"id":6980,"date":"2022-12-15T13:48:15","date_gmt":"2022-12-15T13:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=6980"},"modified":"2022-12-15T13:48:15","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T13:48:15","slug":"warnock-supporters-say-democracy-is-an-inch-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/15\/warnock-supporters-say-democracy-is-an-inch-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"Warnock Supporters Say Democracy Is an Inch Closer"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Sen. Raphael Warnock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Toni Odejimi and Joshua Heron
\n<\/strong>Howard University News Service<\/strong><\/p>\n

For 28 days, attack ad after attack ad bombarded Georgians, reminding them that they\u2019d have to trek to the polls again to choose between U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and former football star Herschel Walker.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s Senate runoff ended all of that, with Warnock winning 51.4 percent of the vote.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want all of Georgia to know whether you voted for me or not, that every single day, I am going to keep working for you,\u201d Warnock said at the final event of his \u201cOne More Time\u201d<\/a> run-off campaign, which he had called a \u201cvictory party,\u201d not an election watch party, long before votes were cast. It turned out that his hubris was well placed.<\/p>\n

The Marriott Marquis was packed with patrons in buttoned-up suits and shimmering sequins. The crowd chattered into the night, and then at 10:24 p.m., it happened. CNN flickered on the screen, declaring that Warnock was projected to win the election.<\/p>\n

The energy of the thunderous crowd echoed off the walls. Warnock supporters pumped their fists in the air and raised campaign signs in a raucous celebration to the song \u201cAll I Do Is Win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warnock sauntered across the stage with a smile on his face. \u201cThe people have spoken,\u201d he said, recognizing Georgians from essential workers to farmers and vowing to \u201cwalk with you, even as I work for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Georgia\u2019s first Black senator acknowledged voter suppression, but praised residents of the Peach State for accomplishing an \u201camazing thing\u201d at the polls.<\/p>\n

What does this mean for Warnock\u2019s supporters? Some say democracy is an inch closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means that we are one step closer to electing Stacey Abrams as governor,\u201d Binh Truome said. \u201cWe are one step closer to establishing felony voting rights to ex-felons. And we are one step closer to making a democracy that people actually believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warnock\u2019s win doesn\u2019t just represent Georgia Democrats getting one win after a trail of losses; it represents a cushion for Democrats nationwide. Democrats already had control of the Senate after Election Day, but Warnock\u2019s win acts as an extra buffer, an extra vote. And this extra vote has come into play, with Warnock repeatedly championing that he was the vote that put Ketanji Brown Jackson on the U.S. Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

With Warnock remaining in the Senate, Democrats were able to stop the \u201cred wave\u201d that was predicted<\/a> to occur in this year\u2019s midterms.<\/p>\n

His opponent, Herschel Walker, accumulated an abundance of support, including fundraising help from re-elected Gov. Brian Kemp. However, the abundance was not enough for Walker and others handpicked by Donald Trump, who were characterized as lacking \u201ccandidate quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike his political advisor, Walker willingly conceded the race. \u201cNo excuses,\u201d he said at his campaign headquarters after projections ascertained his loss. \u201cWe put up one heck of a fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walker gave thanks to his team and donors, while encouraging those in attendance. \u201cAlways cast your votes and never give up,\u201d he said. \u201cBelieve in this country and its state officials.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former Heisman Trophy winner does not regret running, glorifying the experience. \u201cOne of the best things I have ever done is run for the senate seat.\u201d<\/p>\n

His loss was a sigh of relief for Warnock supporter Tesoro Kanwit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting into a level of politics that\u2019s hitting harder and harder,\u201d Kanwit said. \u201cFor now, when we’re so divided, we need someone who\u2019s going to speak up and really lead and have people follow him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tonya Holmes believes that Warnock is the right person at the right time. \u201cHe cares about people, all people,\u201d Holmes said. \u201cHe\u2019s experienced, and he\u2019s gonna do what needs to be done to make sure that the majority of people are well taken care of.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was another close race for the senator, making it his second runoff. Warnock ran off against Republican Kelly Loeffler last year. Warnock had to run for reelection in 2022, unlike Jon Ossoff, because he was filling Johnny Isakson\u2019s seat after the senator resigned.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Warnock can focus on promoting the Democratic presidential nominee in the battleground state, where Biden reigned victorious in 2020, along with three senate victories in the past two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it is on us,\u201d Warnock said, \u201cthe latest generation of Americans and of Georgians to keep building that bridge to keep walking that long walk, pushing the nation towards our ideals.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am Georgia. I am an example and an iteration of its history, of its pain and its promise,\u201d he added. \u201cYou can\u2019t love the people unless you know the people, and you can\u2019t know the people unless you walk among the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joshua Heron of Howard University and Toni Odejimi of Georgia State University are reporters for HUNewsService.com and part of the election team.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Toni Odejimi and Joshua Heron Howard University News Service For 28 days, attack ad after attack ad bombarded Georgians, reminding them that they\u2019d have to trek to the polls again to choose between U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and former football star Herschel Walker. Last week\u2019s Senate runoff ended all of that, with Warnock winning […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55,18],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[152],"class_list":["post-6980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-editorial-opinion","category-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6983,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6980\/revisions\/6983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6980"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=6980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}