ATLANTA -- Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Thursday conceded to Democrat Raphael Warnock in one of two Georgia Senate runoffs that will give control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats.
Loeffler, who was appointed to the position a year ago to replace outgoing Sen. Johnny Isakson, posted a video to social media Thursday evening saying that she had called Warnock to congratulate him.
With his victory in Tuesday's election, Warnock becomes the first Black American from Georgia elected to the Senate.
"Unfortunately, we came up slightly short in the runoff election," Loeffler says in the video, "Earlier today I called Rev. Warnock to congratulate him and to wish him well in serving this great state."
Democrat Jon Ossoff beat Republican David Perdue in Georgia's other Senate runoff. Perdue has yet to concede. In a statement released early Wednesday, his campaign vowed to "mobilize every available resource and exhaust every legal recourse."
The Democrats' wins were largely credited to Stacey Abrams, who spent years crisscrossing Georgia, working to persuade Democratic leaders, donors and prospective candidates that a vast, untapped well of potential voters could upend Republican domination in the state.
The victories this week follow Joe Biden's win in November, the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has taken the state since 1992.
The turnabout gives the 47-year-old voting rights advocate considerable momentum for whatever comes next -- potentially a rematch with Gov. Brian Kemp in 2022.
"I think what's next for Stacey is whatever Stacey wants to be next," said Leah Daughtry, a former chief of staff at the Democratic National Committee. "She's clearly demonstrated her political prowess, her ability to plan -- Georgia didn't happen overnight."
Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Noam Lee previewed the potential matchup in a brief statement: "Gov. Kemp, you're next. See you in 2022."
Former President Barack Obama called Georgia "a testament to the tireless and often unheralded work of grassroots organizing" and credited Abrams with "resilient, visionary leadership."
On Monday, Abrams had stood at Democrats' election-eve rally where Biden said "nobody in America has done more" for voting rights and the party.
Abrams, a Mississippi native with degrees from historically Black Spelman College and Yale Law School, attempted to deflect.
"Let's celebrate the extraordinary organizers, volunteers, canvassers and tireless groups that haven't stopped going since November," Abrams tweeted as the Warnock's victory became apparent. "Across our state, we roared. A few miles to go ... but well done!"
But Georgia's shift in 2020 is a reflection of her willingness to see a new coalition in Democratic politics.
"This is a lot of work, but people need to believe in building multiracial, multigenerational, geographically diverse coalitions -- and that means believe in Black people in the South," said Lauren Groh-Wargo, who managed Abrams' 2018 campaign for governor and now leads her Fair Fight Action political organization.
Essentially, Abrams was telling the mostly white, older power brokers in Georgia Democratic politics that they were on a fool's errand trying to persuade older white voters to return to the party after decades of a Southern shift toward Republicans. The path to closing the gap with Republicans, she insisted, was drawing new voters to the polls. In her vision, that would include everyone from transplants to metro Atlanta to older Black voters who just didn't vote to younger white Georgia natives who simply aren't as conservative as their parents and grandparents.
It almost worked in 2018.
Abrams won the Democratic nomination over a fellow state legislator. In the general election, she finished less than 20,000 votes shy of forcing a runoff against Kemp, a small fraction of the usual Democratic shortfall of 200,000-plus votes.
Transitioning her campaign into Fair Fight, the group continued registering tens of thousands of Georgians.
The close loss drew in plenty of money, including a seven-figure investment from billionaire Michael Bloomberg. Other groups followed, seeing Georgia as fertile ground for Democratic organizing.
Democratic Senate leader Charles Schumer urged Abrams to run for the Senate in 2020 -- at the same time, some supporters urged her to run for the presidency. She demurred, continuing her work in Georgia and expanding Fair Fight into 19 other battleground states.
