- Raphael Warnock on Sunday energized an upbeat crowd at a rally in his hometown of Savannah, Georgia.
- Days before the November general election, Warnock's return was met with pride from attendees.
SAVANNAH, Georgia — On a warm summer-like night just two days before the midterm election, Sen. Raphael Warnock delivered a deeply personal address in the city where he was born and received a hero's welcome from supporters who were exalted to support their native son.
The first-term Democratic senator remains locked in a tight contest with Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker, the former University of Georgia Bulldogs football standout and ex-NFL player.
But in Warnock's hometown, a historic coastal city filled with oak tree canopy dripping Spanish Moss over the streets, the senator's life story — ascending from the Kayton Homes housing project to Morehouse College and then from becoming a prominent member of the clergy to crafting legislation in the halls of Congress — gives his followers immense pride.
Warnock, who was elected in a runoff special election in January 2021, is seeking a full six-year term in Tuesday's election, and for rally attendees at the city's Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, his character was a key part of his appeal.
Alma Mikell, who told Insider that the Warnock event was her first political rally, said she "loved" what the senator is doing for the state, especially to aid lower-income citizens.
Mikell said Warnock is working on ways to curb homelessness, especially among elderly citizens, praising him for being present "for those that don't have a voice."
"That's what he stands for — helping the less fortunate," she added, noting the high engagement of voters in the 2021 runoff elections that sent Warnock and now-Sen. Jon Ossoff to the upper chamber and eventually gave their party control of the body.
Anne Allen Westbrook — who this past May won the Democratic primary for a Savannah-anchored seat in the state House of Representatives — was at the rally with her husband Todd, and spoke highly of Warnock's tenure in office so far.
"He's doing a really great for us in the two years that he's had up there," Westbrook told Insider. "We feel like he's earned the right to get a full term. He's legislated with Georgia in mind and he's very bipartisan."
Westbrook pointed out voting rights as a key issue, nothing Warnock's strong support for the "Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act," which has been held up in the Senate since last year due to fierce Republican opposition. The John Lewis bill would restore provisions fo the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which have been effectively diluted by decisions from the Supreme Court.
When asked about Warnock's influence in Savannah, Westbrook said there's "a lot of pride" in the senator's trajectory. But, she added, aspects of the race have been "pretty negative," and while Georgians "loved Walker as a football hero," that doesn't mean he needs to serve in the Senate.
At an earlier voter canvass kickoff, Warnock, who was accompanied by the film producer and fellow Morehouse alum Spike Lee, expressed warm feelings about being back in the city that molded him.
During his remarks at the rally, Warnock again spoke of the reverence for his hometown and the influence of his family, most of whom he said still reside in the area.
But he also pivoted to railing against Walker, praising his football career but saying that the election was being fought "on a different field today."
"You cannot serve the people if you don't love the people. And you can't truly love the people if you don't know the people and the only way to know the people is to spend time with the people," Warnock said of his opponent.
"He said that if you're able-bodied and you have a job, you have healthcare. Well I've been out the last few weekends knocking on some doors and I have run into several Georgians just randomly knocking on doors, who work every single day. Some have two and three jobs and they have no healthcare. Herschel Walker doesn't know people like that," he added.
Warnock's time in Washington, DC, has paralleled with the White House tenure of President Joe Biden, who narrowly flipped Georgia to the Democratic column in the 2020 election, edging out then-President Donald Trump by roughly 12,000 votes.
As the senior pastor at Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Warnock has natural ties to communities of faith, while also pushing for issues like student-loan debt relief and a $35 cap on insulin prices.
In the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed the Senate through the reconciliation process this year, Warnock played a critical role in the insulin provision being included in the final bill, although individuals with private insurance aren't subject to the capped price after GOP opposition during the legislative process.
Rallygoer Wayne Lakso told Insider he has "full confidence" that Warnock will prevail in this week's election, calling him "by far the most superior candidate."
Noting the high stakes of the outcome in the Senate contest, Lakso added: "We're not going to get anything done if we don't have a Senate that's favorable to Joe Biden."