Sen. Kelly Loeffler Concedes Defeat To Raphael Warnock

GEORGIA — U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler on Thursday conceded defeat in the runoff election to Senator-elect Raphael Warnock, who will become Georgia's first Black senator when he takes office later this month.

The Republican senator called Warnock, a Democrat, to congratulate him on his victory as continued election results show the vote totals for both her race and that of outgoing Sen. David Perdue fall outside the state's margins for a recount. Loeffler trails Warnock by about 80,000 votes.

"I want to thank every Georgian and every American who believed in me and my campaign. We accomplished so much in a short time," Loeffler said in a video announcement. "While my heart breaks at not being able to continue to serve Georgia and America, I'm tremendously proud of all we have achieved together."

Serving our great state has been the honor of my lifetime.

Thank you, Georgia! pic.twitter.com/MQc0rFS208
— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) January 7, 2021

National outlets projected Warnock's victory at about 2 a.m. Wednesday, and Democrat Jon Ossoff was projected the winner that afternoon against Perdue — flipping control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats. Perdue has yet to concede, but he trails Ossoff by about 40,000 votes.

"Rest assured, the fight to advance the American dream is far from over, the fight to protect conservative values is far from over, and the fight socialism and the radical agenda of the left is very far from over," Loeffler said in the video. "I fully intend to stay in this fight for freedom, for our values and for the future of this great country. Serving as your United States senator has been the honor of a lifetime."