Rev. Raphael Warnock declared victory on Tuesday night ahead of the official call for his Georgia U.S. Senate race against incumbent Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler.

Warnock’s Democratic colleague, Jon Ossoff, who is challenging the state’s other incumbent Republican Senator, David Perdue, remains in a tight race. However, Ossoff’s chances to unseat Perdue appears likely as votes continue to be counted in Democratic-leaning counties.

Read More: Rev. Raphael Warnock responds to GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s campaign attacks

Warnock and Ossoff’s potential wins in the Peach State would be a major victory for Democrats, giving the party a majority in the U.S. Senate, effectively sidelining Republicans and giving the Democratic Party full control of both chambers of Congress.

The new majority in the Senate and the current majority in the U.S. House of Representatives would also clear the path for Democrats President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and their legislative agenda for the next two years.

Read More: Georgia runoffs could be backdrop for possible Abrams-Kemp rematch: report

The seats would give Democrats a 50-50 split in the U.S. Senate with Vice President-elect Harris serving as the tie-breaking vote.

Warnock, with his win, would make history as the first Black American to be elected to the U.S. Senate in the state’s history. Both the Ebenezer Baptist Church senior pastor and Ossoff, a 33-year-old investigative journalist, have never held public office.

Read More: Rev. Raphael Warnock says Dr. King’s spirit ‘recruited’ him to Morehouse College

A survey of voters conducted by the Associated Press found that Warnock and Ossoff’s support largely came from Black voters, younger voters, people earning $50,000 or less, and newcomers to Georgia. By contrast, Loeffler, who was appointed to her senate seat in December 2019, and Perdue, who served only one term, found their support from white, older, wealthier and longtime residents.

Warnock and Ossoff’s victories would also mirror the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Georgia elected Biden over President Donald Trump and flipped blue for the first time in nearly 30 years. Biden’s victory, and by proxy the Senate runoffs, was largely credited to Black voters and organizers like former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, who helped to register more than 800,000 voters since 2018.

Read More: Harris, Abrams selected for Forbes’ ‘most powerful women’ list

In a virtual speech from his Atlanta home, Warnock said he was humbled by his likely win and vowed to “work for all of Georgia.”

“I stand before you as a man who knows that the improbable journey that led me to this place in this historic moment in America could only happen here. We were told we couldn’t win this election, but tonight we proved that, with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible,” said Warnock.

“I am so honored by the faith that you have shown in me, and I promise you this: I am going to the Senate to work for Georgia, all of Georgia, no matter who you cast your vote for in this election.”

In an exclusive interview with theGrio in November, Warnock insisted his only ambition in running for office was to make a difference in the everyday lives of Georgians, particularly during a viral pandemic and racial divisions in America.

“We need to stick together as an American people, this virus that we’re waging war against or need to be waging war against more valiantly. It doesn’t know red from blue, and it doesn’t know black from white. It’s a virus,” Warnock told theGrio. “And we have to do battle against the virus of COVID-19 and we have to wage war against what I call the virus of COVID-1619 — the ways in which our age-old problem with race and this country keep showing up over and over again.”

Warnock, a graduate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s alma mater Morehouse College, believes he is uniquely positioned to transform America to better reflect communities that have been traditionally pushed to the margins.

“The grand story that connects King to Morehouse, to Ebenezer, to all of the great struggles we’ve seen in this country, civil rights, women’s rights, the rights of members of the LGBTQ plus community, disabled folk who need access and had to stand up to the American Disabilities Act. That grand story is about the enlarging of our democracy,” he told theGrio.

“The broadening of a space so that everybody can breathe. That’s what America is about. That’s what my career has been about and that’s why I’m running for the U.S. Senate.”

Despite the close race, Ossoff’s campaign released a statement of confidence early Wednesday that he would be come out victorious after the votes are counted. “When all the votes are counted we fully expect that Jon Ossoff will have won this election to represent Georgia in the United States Senate,” the statement said.

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The post Raphael Warnock declares historic win ahead of official call for Georgia Senate race appeared first on TheGrio.