Obama endorses Warnock in crowded Georgia Senate race

Former President Barack Obama on Friday added his name to the list of prominent Democrats endorsing the Rev. Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s special U.S. Senate election

Election 2020-Senate-Georgia (Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Former President Barack Obama on Friday added his name to the list of prominent Democrats endorsing the Rev. Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s special U.S. Senate election.

The nod was among dozens of endorsements of Democratic candidates across the country released by Obama on Twitter.

Warnock, who is pastor of the Atlanta church where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. preached, is one of 20 candidates challenging Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler for the seat she was appointed to by Georgia’s governor 9 months ago.

Even with broad support from party leaders, Warnock has consistently ranked just behind Loeffler and Republican Rep. Doug Collins in public polling, though he has been on the rise in recent weeks.

That’s raised fears among Democrats that they could get locked out of a Jan. 5 runoff, required by state law if no candidate tops 50% on Nov. 3. It's also led to a pressure campaign to push other Democrats out of the race in order to consolidate support behind Warnock.

The race is one of two U.S. Senate contests in Georgia that will be on the ballot this fall. In the other race, Republican Sen. David Perdue faces Democrat Jon Ossoff, who was endorsed by Obama on Friday.