The Georgia Senate runoff race was on Tuesday, December 5; Senator Raphael Warnock won, 51.2 % to 48.8 %. This changes the majority, so now the Senate debates are not settled by Kamala Harris. For clarification, a runoff election is essentially a rematch election since neither candidate received the necessary amount of votes to win in November. The candidates were Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker. This election has been said to be critical as the fate of Georgia and the representation of Georgians is at stake. However, it is not just the political party and future of Georgia that make this election so unique. Both men are black. And both are representing completely polar ideals.
Mr. Walker is new to politics, as he was a successful N.F.L. player. However, a wave of skepticism and scandal poured in as Mr. Walker announced his candidacy. This included his paying for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion while vocalizing his opposition to abortion, preventing “bad air” from China from floating to the U.S.’s “good air,” and anti-LGBTQ comments. Additionally, Mr. Walker is a hyper-conservative who is endorsed by Donald Trump. But it is not his lack of knowledge of politics or merely this election that plays such a key role: it is his approval ratings and Georgian feelings. One woman said, “The more I heard about Herschel Walker, I became concerned about his honesty, his hypocrisy, but also just his ability to lead.” Others said that voting for Walker was “a no-brainer” because he is a hardcore conservative. This Republican loss is especially harmful to the party because Donald Trump personally backed Warnock, and this loss proves that his chances and popularity are not in his favor.
On the other hand, there is the incumbent (person already in office) and winner, Raphael Warnock. Senator Warnock is also a pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church. In order to promote voting, Senator Warnock described it as “prayer for the world we desire”. He said he was less [focused] on partisanship and more about “right and wrong”. He also promoted his campaign with his legislation on capping insulin for Medicare beneficiaries and working with Republican senators, explaining he is open to bipartisanship. Senator Warnock is Georgia’s first black senator and he has just won a full six-year term.
Not only was this election important to relieve Kamala Harris of the duty of the senate tie-breaker, but it gave a new perspective on representation. Two black men were running, but if Mr. Walker had won, how would black people, black women, feel about potentially feeling misrepresented? Two years ago, Amy Coney Barret was appointed to the Supreme Court. It is amazing to have another female and a woman in high power. Yet, she does not represent a majority of women’s opinions, especially on female reproductive rights. If Herschel Walker won, would he represent a majority of black people’s opinions and rights? The surveys say no. If Raphael Warnock had been white, would the results imply racism? It becomes a matter of opinion if a candidate appropriately represents a group of people, but the majority opinion, especially in that group, should be taken into account in order to prove if they are fairly representative.
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