Georgia Democratic Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock said Wednesday morning he had yet to hear from outgoing GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler, several hours after their runoff was called in Warnock’s favor.
“No, I haven’t heard from her, but I’m hearing from the people of Georgia, and people are feeling a sense of hope this morning.” Warnock told CBS This Morning.
Shortly after midnight, even though Warnock’s victory was all but certain, Loeffler declined to concede when she addressed a small crowd of supporters.
“It’s going to be another late night,” she said. “There are a lot of votes out there, as you all know. We have a path to victory, and we are going to stay on it. … This is a game of inches. We are going to win this election.”
A short time later, Warnock delivered a victory speech in which he paid tribute to his mother, Verlene. Warnock will be the first black Senator in history from Georgia, and the first Black Democrat to win a Senate seat in the South since Reconstruction.
“The other day, because this is America, the 82 year old hands that used to pick somebody else’s cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator,” Warnock said.
Watch Warnock’s full victory speech below.