Friend: Thank you.

On Tuesday, we made history. To the people of Georgia, I am honored by the faith you've shown in me. And to this grassroots team, I want to thank each and every member so very much for your support.

We were told we couldn't win this election – but together, we proved that with hope, hard work and the people by our side, anything is possible.

So I'm thanking you now as a proud American and a son of Georgia, with roots planted deeply in Georgian soil. I'm thanking you as a child who grew up in the Kayton Homes housing projects of Savannah, number 11 out of 12 children, a proud graduate of Morehouse College and the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis.

And I'm thanking you as the son of my mother. Because this is America, my mama's 82-year-old hands that used to pick somebody else's cotton went to the polls and picked her youngest son to be a United States senator. I know that my story could only happen here.

All of us have a choice to make now, friend. Will we continue to divide and dishonor one another? Or will we love our neighbors as we love ourselves?

Will we play political games while real people suffer? Or will we win righteous fights together, standing shoulder to shoulder, for the good of Georgia and the good of our country?

I know my answer. And that's why I promise you this: I hear you, I see you, and every day I'm in the United States Senate, I will fight for you.

I know that we can beat the pandemic with science and good old fashioned common sense. That we can rebuild a fairer economy that provides essential workers an essential wage and essential benefits. That we can ensure people have access to affordable health care.

This historic win shows not only that we can do these things, but that we must. And I plan to get it done. I will fight for you, I will fight for your family, and I will fight for every last person struggling to get by in this state.

It's dark in this country right now, friend. But Scripture tells us that while "weeping may endure for a night, joy comes in the morning." Let us rise up, greet the morning and greet the challenges of this moment – together.

Together we can do the hard work and win the future for all of our children. So thank you – God bless Georgia and God bless these United States of America.

Rev. Raphael Warnock
U.S. Senator-elect from Georgia