Reverend Raphael Warnock, an Atlanta preacher who leads the same church where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached, is running for Senate in Georgia and has already received an endorsement from Stacey Abrams. 

It has not been a month into Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler's appointment, but that is not stopping Warnock of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Georgia from placing his bid against her as a Democrat contender.  

Warnock is running in November for the open special election, which is set to replace former Sen. Johnny Isakson for the remaining two years.

The pastor, who announced his run on Tuesday, shared a campaign video on his YouTube channel addressing “struggling families across Georgia" and vowing to help by advocating for access to health care and better worker pay.

“I’ve always thought that my impact doesn’t stop at the church door; that’s actually where it starts,” Warnock said. “I love this country. I believe that what makes America so great, is that we’ve always had a path to make it greater.”


People are comparing Warnock's run to Abrams' gubernatorial campaign, where she almost won against incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp. Abrams  endorsed the pastor on the same day he announced his 2020 candidacy,  according to The Hill.

In the aftermath of her campaign, Blavity has reported Abrams is committed to making voter suppression a statewide emergency.

Warnock has a reputation in politics. He uses his stature as a pastor at Ebenezer where Martin Luther King, Sr., and his son played key roles in the Civil Rights Movement to host interfaith events on climate change alongside former Vice President Al Gore.

Warnock, the son of two pastors, entered the ministry at an early age. He graduated from Morehouse College and served as Ebenezer’s senior pastor since 2005 when he was 35.

The pastor is one of three Democratic challengers against Loeffler. The other contenders include Ed Tarver, a former federal prosecutor who served as U.S. attorney for Georgia’s Southern District under President Barack Obama and Matt Lieberman, the son of former senator and vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman.

Warnock has several advantages over Loeffler, name recognization for one thing. Georgia natives also can relate to the pastor better as he was born and raised in Georgia. Loeffler, on the other hand, is a wealthy businesswoman and political donor from Illinois. She is the current senator because she was appointed by Sen. Isakson who stepped down in December because of his health complications.

Sen. Loeffler is a traditional conservative Republican who supports the reelection of President Donald Trump. 

She is also anti-choice while she once sitting on the board of a hospital that provides abortions. She has admitted to voting against laws against abortion, according to The Washington Times. Her also policies favor more and better gun ownership as well as constructing a border wall along the southern border, according to the Albany Herald.

ATLGeorgia-SenateMLK-Jr.