Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock Hosts Student Press Conference

by Jackson Carlstrom, Editor-In-Chief

On October 10, Senator Raphael Warnock held a virtual student press conference through Zoom. At the press conference, I, alongside 10 other student journalists from different university news staffs across the state of Georgia, got to ask him different questions about his accomplishments as a senator and his plans if he is re-elected in this year’s Senate midterm election.

In 2005, Warnock became the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the church where Martin Luther King Jr preached as a pastor. His political career in Georgia did not begin until 2020. In December 2019, then-US-Senator John Isakson resigned from the Senate due to health concerns. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp appointed Kelly Loeffler to fill the vacant seat as Isakson’s interim replacement until a special election could be held the following year. Warnock had started to grow in prominence in Georgia politics during the 2010s’ due to his activism for the expansion of Medicare, and in January 2020, Warnock announced his candidacy as a Democrat in the Senate special election. Warnock went on to defeat incumbent Senator Loeffler in a runoff with 51% of the votes. Now, after serving out the remainder of Isakson’s term, Warnock is up for re-election for a full 6-year Senate term in this year’s midterm elections, where he will go up against Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

Warnock opened the student press conference by talking about the passion he has for Georgia’s college students, the difficulties they’ve faced during the pandemic, and the potential they hold for the future. Warnock stated that because of his strong passion for Georgia’s college students, one of his main goals as a senator is to address the topic of rising college prices and student loans.

“As you work to pursue quality education, I am working in the Senate to make an investment that makes college more affordable for Georgia students. Since having been elected to the Senate, I’ve been a strong vocal supporter for lowering the cost of college and alleviating the burden of student loan debt,” Warnock said. “Canceling student loans will lower costs for hard working families in Georgia and across the country. It will provide real relief for families who are feeling the squeeze right now with rising prices . . . That’s why I was proud to push President Biden to secure that relief for students.”

Andy Harris, Editor-In-Chief of The Maroon Tiger at Morehouse College, kicked off with the first question for Senator Warnock. “What are some of the things that keep you going on a day-to-day basis in the Senate,” Harris asked.

“Just my deep love for service. My whole life and my whole career have been committed to public service. I started out in ministry, and I didn’t set out to become an elected official. And while I’m in politics, I’m not so much in love with politics as I am with change,” Warnock answered. “A lot of my passion and commitment to this work started when I was your age. Something about being a student at Morehouse College, walking beneath the statue of Martin Luther King Jr with his finger pointing resolutely into the future, inspired me. And I haven’t lost that passion. So, serving now as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King preached, and now serving as a United States Senator, enables me to do really important work that helps people. And for someone like me who’s always wanted my life to count, who’s always wanted to make a difference, this is a dream job.”

Andy Borst, Editor-In-Chief of the Technique at Georgia Tech, asked Senator Warnock what he would say to young people who feel discouraged or disheartened by the state of current political rhetoric and the state of the nation right now.

Senator Raphael Warnock’s official headshot.

“Not many of us are happy about what happens too often in politics, which is why we need young people. Because, if you look at every great movement in our country, young people have always been at the center,” Warnock answered. “We need your idealism. We need your energy and passion, and quite frankly, we need your impatience. You know, young people are often very impatient with what they see. And people will tell you to calm down. But I want to encourage that impatience. I want to cultivate it. I want to see you channel it in such a way that it doesn’t cause you to give up, but causes you to fight even more and say, ‘we want change.’ I can’t control what my colleagues do in this space, but what I try to do is focus on the work that I’m doing.”

Keshondra Shipp, a Staff Writer for The Red & Black newspaper at the University of Georgia, asked Senator Warnock about his stance on abortion and contraceptives for the state of Georgia.

“My position on reproductive choice has remained the same. As a man of faith, I have a profound reverence for life, and I have a deep respect for choice. And I think a patient’s womb is too narrow and too cramped a space for a woman, her doctor, and the government,” Warnock answered. “I think that the women of our state woke up one summer morning and saw a core protection that they’ve known for 50 years completely undermined, and I’m running against an opponent who apparently thinks that what the Supreme Court already did doesn’t go far enough. He wants a nationwide ban on abortion with no exceptions. That would include rape, incest, and the life of the mother. I think that’s extreme. I think that’s out of step with the people of Georgia, and it’s part of the reason why I think people like you young folks need to show up and vote. Because we woke up this summer to discover that what seemed impossible actually happened.”

I asked Senator Warnock about what his response would be to those college students who are on the fence and considering voting for the first time.

“I would say to folks who are trying to figure out which way they’re going to vote that there’s a sharp contrast between me and my opponent. I’ll let him speak for himself, but I have spent my whole life dedicated to public service, first as a pastor, and now as a pastor who serves in the Senate. And while in the Senate, I passed the single largest tax cut for middle and working-class families in American history. t’s called the Expanded Child Tax Credit,” Warnock answered. Warnock also emphasized his history of bipartisanship while in the Senate. “I’m listed as the 18th most bipartisan senator in the Senate,” Warnock said, referring to the Lugar

Center’s annual Index Rankings for Congress. “I think that’s quite a feat, since in terms of seniority, I’m number 100. I’m the most junior senator in the Senate, and yet I’ve managed to co-sponsor and do so much legislation with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. I’ve worked with the senator from Alabama to help Georgia farmers. I’ve worked with the senator from Indiana to address the issue of dangerous railway crossings. I worked with Ted Cruz from Texas to extend what will be interstate 14 through our state, and I’ve worked with Marco Rubio from Florida, with whom I disagree with on the reproductive choice question, to address the issue of maternal mortality.”

As of right now, early voting is open, and Georgia residents can cast their ballots for the 2022 midterm elections. Pre-election polling indicates a tight race between Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker, so every vote counts. To find early voting locations near you, check out the Secretary of State’s website. Election Day is on Tuesday November 8.