Sen. Raphael Warnock offered a blunt assessment of his party's 2026 hopes in Georgia this week and addressed whether he plans to run for the White House in 2028.
The lawmaker, who was elected alongside Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2020, praised his Democratic partner and friend in the Senate but issued a warning for those who believe that the Peach State is a sure bet for blue.
"I think the people of Georgia see the work he's doing and that's why you're seeing him show up in such a powerful way," Warnock told USA TODAY during Congressional Black Caucus week in Washington on Sept. 18. "That said, it's Georgia, it's a purple state. And these elections can go either way, and they can change very quickly."
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Ossoff leads challenger Rep. Mike Collins in every poll released this general election cycle, but Georgia went for President Donald Trump in 2024 after Warnock and Ossoff helped flip the state with Joe Biden in 2020. Ossoff's viral hype has yielded widespread 2028 buzz as some voices within Georgia, including veteran journalist Greg Bluestein, have suggested that Warnock is the candidate best suited to run for the White House.
An NBC News poll released Sept. 20 found that Democrats are seen more negatively than Trump and the GOP, two years after former Vice President Kamala Harris lost the 2024 presidential race as voters split 29% positive to 50% negative.
Warnock said that he is focused on November's midterms, arguing that Democrats need to "put some guardrails" on Trump and hold him accountable as "the basis for anything that anybody might want to do in 2028."
"We have seen the most inept and unfit people be confirmed by the United States Senate to high cabinet posts with huge consequences for the people of Georgia," Warnock said, referring to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Warnock won a partial term in 2020 over Republican businesswoman Kelly Loeffler, who was later appointed by Trump to lead the U.S. Small Business Administration, in a special election to replace Sen. Johnny Isakson who resigned. Later, he prevailed over controversial NFL legend Herschel Walker for a full six-year term in 2022.
Warnock preaches at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s church
Warnock prevailed by nearly three points and is up for Senate re-election in 2028. As senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, he still preaches in Atlanta at the longtime spiritual home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Throughout his time in public life, the two-term senator has infused faith into a broader argument for Democratic policies and priorities – now a national trend as liberal faith leaders run for office in highly competitive races across the nation.
James Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, in Texas and Adam Hamilton, a Methodist megachurch pastor in Kansas, headline Democrats' field in traditionally red states with surprisingly competitive Senate contests.
To explain why he continues preaching, Warnock referred to a 1965 quote by King in which the civil rights icon reflected on his call to serve:"In the quiet recesses of my heart, I am fundamentally a clergyman, a Baptist preacher." Warnock said that King was "doing this public work, but it was guided by his values."
Warnock slammed his Republican colleagues for turning into "pretzels" to support Trump's agenda, calling out his Senate colleagues for supporting Kennedy and engaging in voter suppression.
"They're in love with power. Well, I'm in love with democracy. I'm in love with change," Warnock said. "And politics for me is just a set of tools, but my mission is change."
"Whatever office I decide to seek or not seek, it will be rooted in that fundamental sense of mission."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Raphael Warnock discusses Georgia's midterms, a 2028 White House run
