About Raphael Warnock
Raphael Gamaliel Warnock ( RAH-fee-el WOR-nok; born July 23, 1969) is an American politician and Mainline Protestant minister in the Baptist tradition serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia, a seat he has held since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005. Warnock was the senior pastor of Douglas Memorial Community Church from 2001 to 2005. 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. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2020 United States Senate special election in Georgia, defeating incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler in a runoff election. Warnock and Jon Ossoff are the first Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia since Zell Miller in 2000. Their elections were critical in securing a 50–50 Senate majority for Democrats, with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote. Warnock was a reliable supporter of Joe Biden's legislative efforts during his presidency. He was reelected to a full term in 2022, defeating Republican nominee Herschel Walker. Warnock is the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate, the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from a Southern state, and only the second black U.S. senator directly elected from a Southern state, after Tim Scott. Warnock is the first African American to represent Georgia in the Senate, the first Black Democrat elected to the Senate from a Southern state, and the second black U.S. From June 2017 to January 2020, Warnock chaired the New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan organization founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams and focused on increasing voter registration. On Father's Day 2005, Warnock was named senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King Jr.'s former congregation; he is the fifth and the youngest person to serve as Ebenezer's senior pastor since its founding.
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