Raphael Warnock
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Bio |
Raphael Warnock is the Senior Pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, which is famous for its associations with Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He holds a PhD in theology. He is running in Georgia’s special election to unseat incumbent Kelly Loeffler. |
Status and Position |
Former Candidate of N/A |
Political Party and Jurisdiction |
Democrat, N/A |
Elections |
Election Jurisdiction |
Started Campaign |
Campaign Status |
Poll Rankings (of the vote) |
| 2020 Senate Election Georgia 2 | Georgia 2 | Yes | Running | 41.0% |
Campaign Financing |
Warnock has raised significant money in his challenge for the Georgia Senate—largely from individual contributions, but also from Democratic-aligned PACs. |
Voting Rights |
Warnock supports removing restrictions such as voter ID, exact matching on signatures, and has criticized many Republican leaders for "supporting voter suppression and voter purging and unnecessary programs like ‘exact match" |
Opinions on Issues
Issues |
Stance |
Summary |
| Universal Healthcare | Nuance | Warnock supports expanding healthcare coverage but has not stated a position on fully universal healthcare. During the Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare, Warnock and other pastors were arrested while protesting the repeal, and Warnock has repeatedly pushed for better insurance for Georgians. |
| Socialized Healthcare | For | Warnock supports government-run, socialized healthcare, and has led drives to expand the Affordable Care Act in his home state. |
| Private Healthcare | Nuance | While Warnock supports expanding government-run healthcare, he has not made a statement on how that would apply to private insurance. |
| LGBT Rights | For | Warnock is supportive of LGBT rights, and describes his reasons in terms of his faith. Warnock has spoken out in favor of LGBT equality within the church and within the country, often contrasting himself with other leaders in the church. |
| Taxes | For | Warnock supports programs which would raise taxes. In several speeches, Warnock has called for government programs which would raise taxes (largely on the wealthy) and defended that choice. |
| Flat Tax Rate | Against | Warnock has advocated for the mainstream Democratic position, which is a progressive tax rate rather than a flat one. In several speeches, Warnock has called for government programs which would raise taxes (largely on the wealthy) and defended that choice. |
| Abortion | For | Warnock is seen as being in support of pro-choice policies. He has been backed by pro-choice and abortion-rights groups such as Planned Parenthood in his Senate bid. |
| Gun Control | For | Warnock supports stricter gun control measures. After mass shootings in the US, Warnock has spoken out for gun control, saying that ""We've got to stand up against the hypocritical rhetoric of those that are still arguing...that guns don't kill people, people do. Well, other countries have people too, but they don't have dozens of mass shootings each year" |
| Assisted Suicide | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on assisted suicide. After mass shootings in the US, Warnock has spoken out for gun control, saying that ""We've got to stand up against the hypocritical rhetoric of those that are still arguing...that guns don't kill people, people do. Well, other countries have people too, but they don't have dozens of mass shootings each year" |
| Government Interference | For | Warnock argues that government intervention is necessary in order to confront decades of systemic bias and racism in the United States. |
| Planned Parenthood | For | Warnock has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood for "protect[ing] the health and rights of everyone" |
| Welfare | For | Warnock supports increasing welfare programs. Warnock believes that we must do what we can to help the needy. Staying true to this essential part of his platform, he would like to orient government welfare programs to achieve this goal. |
| Welfare | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on stem cell research. |
| Death Penalty | Against | Warnock opposes the death penalty. In several interviews, Warnock has called the death penalty "the last failsafe of white supremacy" and called for it to be abolished. |
| Mandatory Prison Sentence | Against | Warnock has called for reform to the criminal justice system and decries mandatory prison sentences as unfairly targeting people of color. |
| Military Spending | Against | In a 2011 speech, Warnock said that excessive defense spending in place of programs to help people remained a large problem in the United States. |
| War on Terrorism | Unknown | He does not have a public stance on the war on terror. |
| Foreign Policy International Interaction | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on international relations. N/A |
| United Nations power | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on the United Nations. |
| Nationalism | Against | Warnock has spoken out against acts of white nationalism for many years, calling it the "unabashed racism embraced by the alt-right." |
| Free Markets | Unknown | Warnock has not made clear his stance on free markets. N/A |
| Brexit | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on Brexit. |
| Affirmative Action | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on affirmative action. |
| Government Spending | Nuance | Warnock supports government policies and spending on programs to lift up the poor and historically disfavored, though he has criticized excessive defense spending as well. |
| Charter Schools | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on charter schools. |
| Common Core | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on the Common Core. N/A |
| Clean Energy | For | Warnock supports clean energy and has been a vocal supporter of it for years. Warnock has been endorsed by many groups promoting clean energy, and has spoken out in support of it at events with Al Gore and other climate activists. |
| Religious Freedom | For | As a pastor, Warnock supports religious freedom and the right to recognize all religious beliefs. Warnock has called religious liberty a hallmark of American democracy, and strongly supports it within policy and legislation. |
| Separation of Church and State | Unknown | He does not have a public position yet on the separation of church and state. |
| Slavery Reparations | Unknown | He does not have a public position yet on slavery reparations |
| Border Control | Against | Warnock is a supporter of increased immigration and has been harshly critical of the current border policies. Warnock has spoken out against the Trump administration's policies on immigration at his sermons and speeches, and has called for ending some of the border control policies in place. |
| Passenger Profiling | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on such profiling. |
| DACA | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on DACA. |
| Sanctuary Cities | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on sanctuary cities. |
| Legalizing Marijuana | Unknown | He does not have a public stance yet on marijuana. |
This photo belongs to Wikimedia Commons user WorkingPreacher and is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.