ATLANTA — It’s been a drawn-out campaign for incumbent U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, and more work awaits him as he returns to Washington, D.C., but for a few hours on Dec. 6, he got to celebrate. In Georgia’s runoff election for the Senate seat, Warnock defeated former Heisman Trophy winner and Republican candidate Herschel Walker with 51.4 percent of the vote according to the AP. The win gives the Democrats a 51-49 majority in the U.S. Senate.
“I want to say thank you,” Warnock, who also serves as the lead pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, said at his victory speech. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and to God be the glory.”
Stevie Wonder‘s “Higher Ground” played throughout the ballroom of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis in the heart of Georgia’s capital. An array of other party classics like Outkast’s “The Way You Move” and Strafe’s “Set It Off” played as members of Warnock’s family and campaign team danced on the stage in jubilation.
The victory party featured many prominent people like legendary movie director Spike Lee, actress Lynn Whitfield, Atlanta mayor Andre Dickens, attorney Mawuli Davis and journalist Roland Martin.
Whitfield spoke to some fans in attendance as Warnock made his rounds through the crowd stopping to take celebratory selfies.
“It felt really exciting, right?” Whitfield asked a fan, recapping the night. “I was so happy. It’s so great to see you.” The actress then blew a kiss to the crowd.
Warnock now has his seat in the U.S. Senate for six more years. The win over Walker has also been viewed as another nail in the coffin of American voters’ support for a Donald Trump presidential run. The President, and former reality television star, was one of the major endorsers for Walker’s campaign.
