CHICAGO — Before U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock arrived at the Georgia Democratic delegation’s kickoff pep rally in downtown Chicago on Monday, the pastor-turned-politician’s presence was already felt.

Delegates who crowded into the Hyatt Regency ballroom gushed about an up-close chance to hear Warnock before he addressed the Democratic National Convention. Several wore vintage “Vote Warnock” T-shirts dating to the 2020 campaign that made him a national figure.

And a few rushed to take pictures with Warnock before he was whisked to another event, part of a busy schedule of more than a dozen appearances this week around Chicago as he embraces his role as a sought-after Democratic ally of Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I’m all in. We can’t afford to do anything less in this election,” Warnock said during a quieter moment in the hotel’s bowels after the crowd receded.

“The choice in this election could not be more stark. I’m prepared to barnstorm all across Georgia — I know a little bit, after all, about how to win Georgia. But I plan to move across our country to send Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to the White House.”

Not long ago, Warnock’s vocal championing of the party’s ticket might have seemed surprising, at least to those who caught his campaign trail messaging.

Warnock was never a vocal critic of Biden. But he also took steps to distance himself from the White House — and highlight his work with conservative Republicans — after he won a close 2021 runoff and fended off Republican Herschel Walker a year later.

Whenever asked about Biden during his 2022 reelection bid, he steadfastly steered clear of what he called “pundit” talk and focused on his race.

The balancing act was grounded in hard political truths. Republicans aggressively fought to link Warnock to Biden’s low approval ratings and the inflationary economy that fueled rising costs of household products. Establishing his independence was crucial.

ExploreGeorgia is crucial to a Harris-Walz victory and Warnock is a key ‘Avenger,’ the DNC chair says

Back then, Warnock mostly shrugged off questions about his relationship with Biden, regularly replying that Georgia voters cared more about pocketbook issues than political intrigue.

And the few times Warnock invoked Biden’s name on the campaign trail came in carefully calibrated comments about specific issues, such as his demands for more robust student debt relief.

Still, his arm’s-length approach sharply contrasted with other Democrats on the 2022 ballot — namely Stacey Abrams, the gubernatorial contender who leaned into Biden’s record every chance she got.

Now, it’s Warnock who has emerged as one of the Democratic ticket’s most influential champions in Georgia — first, standing by Biden as pressure mounted on him to drop out of the race, then quickly declaring himself “all in” for Harris when Biden withdrew.

And beyond a busy schedule in Georgia, Harris and her campaign expect Warnock to play a key role in threading together the same disparate coalition that propelled his victories in consecutive Georgia elections.

“He’s going to play a major role in this campaign,” said Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison, who expected Warnock to be deployed in the battlegrounds of North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

“I’m so glad to have him as part of the team,” Harrison told the “Politically Georgia” podcast. “You know, I’m a big Marvel fan, and this week we’re going to have all the Democratic Avengers assemble. And Rev. Warnock is definitely one of the most powerful ones on our team.”

‘Dead batteries’

Democrats see Warnock as a rare politician who can help mobilize not only Black voters, the party’s most important constituency in Georgia, but also white swing voters who were a key factor in Democratic wins the past two elections.

As pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Warnock commands the pulpit of the nation’s most famous Black congregation, giving him a powerful platform to talk about the urgent moral and religious issues confronting the nation.

He’s also a battle-tested candidate who drew solid support from more moderate voters who helped Warnock finish first on the ballot in five elections between 2020 and 2022 — including the 2021 runoff that drew heaps of national attention.

Credit: ajc

Credit: ajc

A significant number of those voters split their tickets two years ago, backing Gov. Brian Kemp and other statewide Republicans while also siding with Warnock in a Senate campaign that helped Democrats retain control of the chamber.

Those independent-minded voters still form a crucial bloc in Georgia, but they also could prove decisive in other states where polls show a tight race between Harris and former President Donald Trump.

“I can’t think of a single corner of the big tent where he couldn’t be deployed and welcomes with open and loving arms,” said Andrew Heaton, a Democratic strategist and former Warnock staffer.

“And because of the 2021 runoff,” Heaton said, “so many Democrats around the country feel invested in him.”

It also makes him a buzzed-about potential Democratic White House candidate in future elections; in 2028, if Harris loses, or in 2032 if she wins.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Trump’s allies have learned not to take Georgia’s first Black senator lightly. After all, Warnock won reelection by roughly 3 points in 2022 in a state that Biden captured by barely 12,000 votes about two years earlier.

“I would not ever underestimate Rafael Warnock,” said Bill White, a Trump ally who is one of a contingent of MAGA Republicans who traveled to Chicago.

“That said, picking him as a Harris surrogate is like picking Tim Walz for her running mate. It’s doubling down on bad policy,” said White, who backed Walker’s challenge. “I always say two dead batteries can’t start a car.”

For Democrats, Warnock’s blend of savvy media messaging — sometimes cheeky, sometimes heartfelt — and his evangelical roots help blunt the conventional GOP attacks branding him as a “radical liberal” that proved effective against other Georgia candidates.

“He just has a level of charisma that other politicians don’t have,” said Chase Stell, a Georgia delegate who said Warnock’s delivery sometimes reminds him of his uncle, a Southern Baptist preacher.

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First lady Jill Biden speaks during the day 1 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center, Monday, August 19, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Hyosub Shin / AJC)

“The senator can strike that balance,” he said. “And if you capture that audience, like he can do, you can feel like you’re in a congregation.”

That’s how it felt on Monday morning, when Warnock delivered the same fiery speech that so many in the room had heard before.

Yet the crowd still roared in rhythm with Warnock as he recounted a letter he wrote to his young daughter after Biden tapped Ketanji Brown Jackson to become the first Black woman on the U.S. Supreme Court.

With the crowd at times nearly drowning out his words, Warnock recited each line of that 2-year-old note.

“I write this letter to say to you that in America, you can become and achieve anything you set your mind and heart to do.”