As the Georgia Senate run-off elections approach, former President Barack Obama has issued a handful of messages on behalf of Democratic contender Raphael Warnock, who is running against incumbent Republican Kelly Loeffler. Obama appears in three ads that the Warnock campaign released this week, including one in which he cites the late civil rights leader John Lewis, who served as a Congressman from the state. Obama spoke at Lewis’s funeral, which unfolded at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Warnock himself currently serves as a senior pastor. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. also preached at the church.
In a new Warnock ad, Obama noted that Lewis said that “democracy is not a state. It is an act.” In other words, work must be done to uphold democracy’s basic principles, and the freedom of the electoral system in the United States isn’t something to take for granted. Throughout his life, Lewis fought to expand this electoral freedom to marginalized communities in the United States, and the fight continues.
Obama added:
‘Georgia, the time to act is now. Let’s send Raphael Warnock to the Senate to make progress for all of us.’
In an ad, Obama also added:
‘If we want Joe Biden to succeed in tackling this virus and getting folks back to work, we need Raphael Warnock in the Senate.’
Warnock is running alongside fellow Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff, who is challenging incumbent Republican David Perdue. Obama’s message mirrors a recent message from President-elect Joe Biden, who himself won Georgia in the presidential race by a thin margin. In short, Biden noted that Warnock and Ossoff’s presence in the Senate could be a critical boost for the Democratic agenda that tens of millions of Americans backed during the election. If Democrats win both races, then Democrats will control the Senate, because the chamber will be 50-50, but vice presidents break ties, and Kamala Harris will be the next vice president.
In a recent joint Warnock-Ossoff ad, Biden commented, in part, as follows:
‘My administration is preparing to beat COVID-19 and get economic relief to the American people. On day one as your president, I’m prepared to sign a COVID relief package that fully funds the public health response needed, led by Georgia’s own CDC… I need Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the United States Senate to get this done. There are folks in Congress threatening to do everything in their power to block our efforts. We need you to get out there and vote for Jon Ossoff as well as Raphael Warnock. We need them in the Senate.’
Check out the Biden message below:
Ossoff and Warnock are out with a new Georgia Senate ad featuring Joe Biden:
"Let me be clear, I need Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the United States Senate to get this done. There are folks in Congress threatening to do everything in their power to block our efforts." pic.twitter.com/sRTJ0wUXOo
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 17, 2020
