Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) conceded to Democratic Sen-elect Raphael Warnock on Thursday in a video statement posted to Twitter.
“Serving our great state has been the honor of my lifetime,” Loeffler captioned in a tweet that included the concession video.
In the video, Loeffler thanked her supporters, saying she called Warnock to offer her congratulations.
“I want to thank every Georgian and every single American who believed in me and our campaign,” Loeffler said. “We accomplished so much in a short time — from delivering relief to hardworking Georgians during this pandemic to funding our rural hospitals and health care, advocating for our farmers, our veterans, for school choice, and families. For standing up for conservative, American values.”
“Unfortunately, we came up slightly short in the runoff election — and earlier today I called Reverend Warnock to congratulate him and to wish him well in serving this great state,” she added. “While my heart breaks at not being able to continue to serve Georgia and America, I’m tremendously proud of all that we’ve achieved together.”
She also promised to continue to fight for the American dream and to protect conservative values.
“Rest assured: The fight to advance the American dream is far from over. The fight to protect conservative values is far from over. And the fight against socialism and the radical agenda of the left is very far from over. I fully intend to stay in this fight for freedom, for our values, and for the future of this great country,” she concluded.
Loeffler held the seat for a year after she was appointed to replace outgoing Sen. Johnny Isakson.
The Associated Press called the race for Warnock early Wednesday morning. Warnock, who beat Loeffler by over 73,000 votes will become the first African American from Georgia elected to the Senate.
Loeffler initially planned to object to the Electoral College results, announcing on the eve of the Senate runoff election Monday night that she will be joining several GOP lawmakers during a rally President Trump held. However, chaos descended on the U.S Capitol when pro-Trump stormed the building, forcing lawmakers into hiding and disrupting the joint session of Congress for over six hours. When the Senate reconvened late Wednesday evening, Loeffler backed away from the promise, stating that she would no longer object to the Georgia presidential election results.
In Georgia’s other Senate runoff, news outlets projected Wednesday afternoon Democrat Jon Ossoff defeated incumbent GOP Sen. David Perdue. Perdue hasn’t conceded, but trails by more than 40,000 votes with 99% of the vote counted. The margin of victory for Ossoff is currently outside the 0.5% margin that would allow according to state election law for a recount of the results.
Perdue has yet to concede. In a statement released early Wednesday, Perdue’s campaign vowed to “mobilize every available resource and exhaust every legal recourse.”
The twin victories for Democrats will now give the party the control of the U.S Senate with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris able to break ties in the chamber.
Loeffler will remain in the Senate until Jan. 22.
Associated PressCapitol RiotConcessionCongressElectoral CollegeGeorgiaGeorgia Senate RunoffJon OssoffRaphael WarnockSen. David PurdueSen. Kelly LoefflerSenate
What do you think?