Democratic lawmakers paid tribute to the late Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) after Sen.-elect Raphael Warnock (D) defeated Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) in Tuesday’s runoff Senate election.
Warnock would be the first Black senator to be elected from Georgia, one of the nation’s first 13 colonies.
Lewis, the civil rights legend, died last summer.
“Our beloved John Lewis still working his magic tonight in Georgia,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chairwoman of the House Progressive Caucus, tweeted Tuesday night. “’Never give up, never give in.’”
“My friend John Lewis planted the foundation of this Georgia over his career. I wish he were here tonight to watch this,” Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) tweeted in the late hours of Tuesday.
“Thinking about my friend John Lewis right now,” said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.).
Other public figures also invoked the late congressman and civil rights activist, including lawyer Meena Harris, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s niece, and director Rob Reiner.
Warnock serves as the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. served as co-pastor at the time of his assassination.
In 2020, he spoke at Lewis’s funeral at the church. He was projected the winner in the heavily-watched race Tuesday night after the November vote forced a runoff.
Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff is leading Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). If he prevails, it would give Democrats the Senate majority in a 50-50 Senate, with Vice President-elect Harris breaking ties.