Dec 3, 2022 - Politics & Policy
The surprise winner in the new Democratic primary calendar
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Former President Barack Obama campaigns with Sen. Raphael Warnock in Atlanta on Thursday. Photo: Brynn Anderson/AP
If Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) wins his runoff Tuesday, expect rising buzz he could be a promising Democratic presidential candidate in 2024, if President Biden doesn't run, or beyond.
- Why it matters: The radical 2024 primary-calendar overhaul adopted yesterday by the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, plays into Warnock's hands.
The Warnock camp is downplaying talk of national aspirations.
- But if he beats Herschel Walker, Warnock will take the Democrats' Senate majority from 50 seats (with Vice President Harris as the tie-breaker) to a solid 51.
Warnock, 53 — senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, once the pulpit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. — is a charismatic speaker who has made inroads with white suburban voters.
- Plus he could unite the Democratic coalition and reinvigorate Black voters, whose turnout sagged nationally in 2022.
The calendar — with its front-loading of Georgia and neighboring South Carolina — adds to Warnock's appeal.
