2 Lester Hinds/Gleaner Writer JAMAICANS IN Georgia have welcomed Democratic Party Senator Raphael Warnock’s victory in the run-off elections on Tuesday as a big win for the party and the black community. Warnock received 51.4 per cent of the votes to dismiss the challenge of his Republican Party opponent Herschel Walker who amassed 48.6 per cent. Donna McLeod, Jamaica-born state representative whose term will end later this month, told The Gleaner that she was very happy with the results, which reflected solid support from the black communities. “We worked hard within the Jamaican and Caribbean community to ensure his victory. He was the best of the two candidates and we had to ensure his victory,” she said. For many, especially those living in Atlanta, it was a long-haul campaign, which saw them working to encourage persons to vote as well assisting in getting persons to the polls on election day. She reports that Jamaicans in Gwinnet County turned out in large numbers to vote in the run-off elections, beating their own turnout numbers in the November 8 midterm elections. “Our county came up big for the Warnock campaign,” she told The Gleaner. McLeod believes that the Republican party’s support of Walker’s candidacy was an attempt to cause a division in Georgia’s black community. She said Walker was a flawed candidate and should not have been put up to run. “I was highly offended by the actions of the Republican Party,” she said. She noted that despite this, the Caribbean community rallied, was united in its support for SenatorWarnock, and came out big for the Democratic candidate. “It was a sweet victory.” “I would have been extremely sad hadWalker won,”she told The Gleaner. ADDITIONAL SEAT Tony Gray, a well-known leader in the Jamaican community in Atlanta, especially commended the unity in the communities that he said ensured the win. “We in the Jamaican and Caribbean American communities banded together to secure this victory,” he said. Gray noted that many in the community were actively involved in the Warnock campaign, focusing particularly on outreach missions to turn out the votes for him. Connie Witter, another Jamaican community activist in Atlanta, said the win was well deserved and will benefit the black community. “Senator Warnock is from the John Lewis mould, and we know that he will do well by the community, so we had no hesitation in working to get him elected,” she said. The late John Lewis was a Georgia Democrat and stalwart of the civil rights movement in the US. He died in July 2020. Dr Joseph Redley acknowledged the value of Senator Warnock’s victory to strengthen efforts by Democrats in the Senate to get important legislation passed. “It was a good victory. He lived up to the policies that Democrats are trying to pass, and this additional seat in the Senate will benefit the Democratic Party,” Redley reasoned. Warnock’s win means that the Democratic Party now has have 51 seats in the new senate when it convenes in January while the Republican Party will have 49 seats. The pick-up of the one seat by the Democratic Party means that Democrats in the Senate will no longer have to rely on Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tie-breaking votes as is now the case in the 50/50 evenly split Senate. SenatorWarnock secured 1.8 million to Walker’s 1.7 million votes. ‘It was a sweet victory’ - Jamaicans in Georgia welcome Senator Warnock’s win in run-off elections Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., arrives at the Capitol after defeating Republican challenger Herschel Walker in a runoff election in Georgia last night, in Washington, Wednesday, December 7. AP THE WEEKLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 8, 2022 - JANUARY 5, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS Phyllis Barnes phyllis.barnes@gleanerna.net NEW YORK Garfield Grandison - Manager garfield.grandison@gleanerna.net Normadelle Rose - Office Supervisor normadelle.rose@gleanerna.net 92-05 172nd Street, Jamaica, NY 11433, 718-657-0788 Aubrey Campbell aubreycgleaner@gmail.com Aniceto Rodriguez Ruiz, first counsellor and head of cooperation for Jamaica, raps with Shaqwayne Williams (right) and Marcello Richards from the Regent Street Basic School located in Denham Town, Kingston. The European Union, along with JSIF, conducted a tour of the community on Wednesday. KENYON HEMANS/PHOTOGRAPHER
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