Incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock has released a new ad in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff election.
The ad sees the Baptist minister speak about how his faith and his upbringing informs his service in the U.S. Senate. Notably, it does not mention Republican challenger Herschel Walker, whom Warnock will face in the Dec. 6 election.
“Love kindness and walk humbly with your God. It’s the basic tenet of my faith — of all faiths —and a belief shared by people across Georgia. It’s what my mom and dad poured into me as the 11th of 12 children growing up in public housing,” Warnock says in the ad.
“It’s what led me to follow in the footsteps of Dr. King to Morehouse College, and then to become a pastor. It’s what inspired me to grow a ministry rooted in service to our community. And it’s what’s guided me every day working for you in the Senate.
“These are challenging times, but I remain hopeful because I believe in our capacity to rise above these challenges, to put aside the differences others used to divide us and instead look for the common humanity within us.”
Warnock’s ad is one of several his and Walker’s campaigns have released over the past week, however, the new ad is more positive than prior creative from Warnock’s campaign — earlier this week, it released an ad attacking Walker as a liar and hypocrite, pointing to allegations he paid two of his ex-girlfriends to have abortions.
The Warnock vs. Walker race is advancing to a runoff after neither candidate secured a majority of the vote. The latest tally shows Warnock ahead by 0.9%, or about 36,000 votes, but a few tenths of a point short of a majority. Walker received 48.5% of the vote while Libertarian Chase Oliver received 2.1%.
Warnock and Walker will be the only candidates on the ballot in the Dec. 6 runoff election.
Notably, Warnock was elected to the U.S. Senate two years ago under similar circumstances. He was the top vote-getter in the 2020 special election for the U.S. Senate seat he currently holds, but he failed to get a majority of the vote on the crowded ballot. In the runoff, he defeated appointed incumbent Kelly Loeffler 51%-49%.
The Georgia race will no longer decide which party will control the U.S. Senate, since Democrats pulled out narrow victories in Arizona and New Mexico, securing 50 seats with Vice President Kamala Harris serving as the tie-breaker vote. Still, both parties are putting their full weight into capturing the increasingly purple state.
