Democrat Raphael Warnock Defeats GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler in Georgia

ATLANTA — Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock defeated Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) in one of two U.S. Senate runoff races in Georgia on Tuesday that were to determine which party takes control of Congress’s upper chamber.

Warnock finished one point ahead of Loeffler, 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent, or by about 40,000 votes, with 97 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Associated Press, which called the race at about 2 a.m. early Wednesday morning.

Warnock, the longtime senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, gave a victory speech through a video message after midnight, saying, “I promise you this tonight: I am going to the Senate to work for all of Georgia no matter who you cast your vote for in this election.”