TGR COMMENTARY: Why Warnock Won

By Lucius Gantt

     Several people have asked me why Rev. Rafael Warnock won his reelection campaign. 

     Well, we all know he faced an unqualified opponent that was hand-picked by Donald Trump, the so-called Russian Babayka. 

      What most people didn’t know was Warnock was victorious because he did exactly what The Gantt Report said all candidates should do, Warnock fought hard for votes “in enemy territories”!

      The preacher even went to his opponent’s hometown in Wrightsville, Georgia and got votes there.

       In fact, Warnock outperformed and got more votes in Republican districts in Georgia than America’s favorite, Stacey Abrams, and President Joe Biden.

       I am so proud of Warnock. Warnock did what other candidates, especially losing candidates in high-profile Congressional races , would never do, Warnock had a talented, experienced and professional Black man in a decision-making position!

     Quentin Fulks, excelled as Warnock’s Campaign Manager. A graduate of American University, Fulks had the educational background in political studies, he had the “Washington” connections, he had the skills that candidates should look for in a campaign manager.

     Not only did Fulks lead Warnock to victory, in my mind, he showed how terrible other Democratic candidates performed with white advisors that insisted on using 1950 election tactics in a 2022 election.

     There were nine statewide elections between Democratic and Republican candidates in the Peach State. The only Democratic winner was Warnock. Abrams got beaten like an egg in the Christmas cake batter!

      The Warnock campaign was not perfect though. Records were broken for mid-term turnouts but turnouts were still lower than they could have been, messages were still more “vanilla” than diverse even though Fulks and Warnock utilized what looked like geo-demographic targeting when they had specific messages for Asians, Hispanics and other ethnic groups and, in my mind, the political timing could have been a teeny bit better.

       But don’t blame Warnock and Fulks, neither of the two could be described as a political media expert. 

        Let’s hope the Warnock and Fulks election successes will open the doors for many more talented Black political professionals.

        Before we close this week a couple of more things to ponder.

        I can’t complain about Warnock’s Senate work. He worked well with Senators on both sides of the aisle and he worked hard to get legislation passed for Black farmers. What have your elected officials done for people like you, other than street name changes, resolutions and proclamations when there is a Democratic Senate, House and Presidency in Washington, D.C.

        I pray that Senators and other Congress persons can get a voting rights bill passed and a judicial reform bill passed as fast as gay marriage bills got passed

        I also would like HBCU graduates to stop hating on Prime Time for taking a higher-paying coaching job. College football is a BUSINESS. Jackson State can get a coach that is just as good as Deion Sanders if the school and alumni pay the salaries that championship coaches require. I think Sanders did a great job at JSU.

       Welcome home Brittany Griener