ATLANTA — U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock's first TV ad aims to connect with apprehensive Georgia voters with a concise message: "I see you, I hear you, I am you."
"I understand the work I was sent to the Senate to do," Warnock said in the ad debuting Tuesday, "and that's what I intend to keep doing for Georgia."
The minute-long spot comes as polls show a challenging reelection climate for the Democrat, one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents on the ballot in November.
Georgia voters are on edge about rising inflation rates and economic struggles, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll that also shows Warnock in a tight race against Republican football standout Herschel Walker in a hypothetical matchup.
Warnock, pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, opens the ad acknowledging that "people are hurting, people are tired, people have seen what they've worked their entire lives to build turned upside down at a moment's notice."
"They're wondering when things will get back to normal and at the same time not knowing what normal even means anymore," he said.
"At my heart I am, and will always be, a pastor. That means going to work for my congregation. It means understanding the challenges you face, and then doing my best to make a difference."
Warnock dipped into his $23 million war chest to finance the ad, which will air statewide. Walker, the Republican front-runner, told donors in a memo Monday that the roughly $725,000 that Warnock has put behind the ad is "proof that our Democrat opponent is very concerned about his reelection chances."
The transcript:
[WARNOCK]: People are hurting. People are tired. People have seen what they've worked their entire lives to build turned upside down at a moment's notice. They're wondering when things will get back to normal and at the same time not knowing what normal even means anymore. At my heart I am, and will always be, a pastor. That means going to work for my congregation. It means understanding the challenges you face, and then doing my best to make a difference. Every day I carry your concerns with me. That's why I've worked so hard to protect and create jobs. That's why I know we must make health care more affordable. That's why I'm cracking down on the corporations who are raising prices out of control. What I want the people of Georgia to know is that I see you, I hear you, I am you. I understand the work I was sent to the Senate to do and that's what I intend to keep doing for Georgia. I'm Raphael Warnock and I approve this message.
