The Rev. Raphael Warnock is the leader of Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church which was home to Martin
Luther King, and is now running for the Senate seat in Georgia's special election.
"Some might ask why a pastor thinks he should serve in the Senate," said Warnock. "I've always thought that my impact doesn't
stop at the church door. That's actually where it starts."
Warnock grew up in Savannah, Georgia, in public housing as the eleventh of twelve children born to Verlene and Jonathan
Warnock, both of whom were Pentecostal pastors. He graduated from Morehouse College and earned a Master of Divinity,
Master of Philosophy, and Doctor of Philosophy from Union Theological Seminary. He served as the youth pastor and later as
assistant pastor at Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York, and senior pastor at Douglas Memorial Community Church in
Baltimore. Warnock has been the pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.
As pastor, Warnock advocated for clemency for Troy Davis, who was executed in 2011. He also chaired the New Georgia
Project, a nonpartisan organization focused on voter registration. In 2013, Warnock delivered the benediction at the public
prayer service at the second inauguration of Barack Obama. In March 2014, Warnock led a sit-in at the Georgia State Capitol
press state legislators to accept the expansion of Medicaid offered by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He and
other leaders were arrested during the protest. Warnock hosted an interfaith meeting on climate change, featuring Al Gore and
William Barber II, in March 2019
His campaign has been endorsed by Senators Cory Booker, Sherrod Brown, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, and
Brian Schatz, as well as the DSCC and Stacey Abrams.
