Sen. Raphael Warnock is a man in two worlds: the spiritual and the political.
Eugene Daniels/POLITICO
Georgia’s Senate race has remained close for months, with Warnock holding a slight — but far from sure — advantage. Those at Ebenezer know it’s because the same issues playing out nationally are felt more acutely here.A recent Quinnipiac poll showed Georgians ranking inflation as their top issue, with a 29-point lead over the next one, abortion. Twelve percent of Democrats ranked inflation as their top-five issue, while 73 percent of Republicans put it as theirs.
“Georgia is not immune from everything that’s happening in the country,” says Ed Jennings, an 11-year member of Ebenezer’s congregation. He watched with worry earlier this year as gas prices went up and the Democratic Party’s legislative agenda in D.C. went through what Jennings calls a “pause period.”
“We’ve had a challenging economy and the basic issues for Black people are no different than anybody else. If I’m paying $4 at the gas station, that’s a problem for me,” Jennings says. “We’re now down around here to around $3. You’re seeing a resurgence in legislative wins, new energy around Dobbs that has kicked things into a new level where things are not where they were.”
Jennings is hitting on two points that strategists in the state also repeat: first, opposition to Walker may not be enough to motivate some Black voters in light of economic turbulence and the events of the last two years. Second, that despite being his flock’s favorite to win the Senate race, Warnock still still has to mold that energy into votes for him.
And, they point out, Warnock will need both sides of himself to pull it out.
During his service that day, the jobs of politician and preacher melded most fully when it comes to kissing babies on stage. Three newborns, dressed in layers of white and lace are being “blessed” today. Warnock holds them up to the sky, dedicates them to God and gives them a peck on the forehead.
It’d be almost too on the nose — if you weren’t used to a Baptist church.