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Democrat Rev. Raphael Warnock has won his runoff election in Georgia, defeating Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler, and is headed to the U.S. Senate. The results of the second runoff race — Jon Ossoff vs. Sen. David Perdue — are likely to be called early today, and Ossoff is in the lead.

In his victory speech, Warnock honored his mother’s journey from the Jim Crow South. “The other day, because this is America, the 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,” Warnock said about his mother, Verlene, who raised 12 children while living in public housing.

Warnock’s win brings Democrats closer to controlling the U.S. Senate. If Warnock and Ossoff both win, which seems incredibly likely, it could mean the U.S. Senate will effectively be majority Democratic thanks to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. This could affect a great deal of legislation, including policy related to the Affordable Care Act; reproductive rights; and President-Elect Joe Biden’s proposed $775 billion plan for caregivers, which would introduce universal pre-K, boost pay for care workers, and expand jobs in the field. It could also affect further COVID relief bills, and help workers get crucial aid that’s been lacking under the Republican-controlled Senate.

Warnock is the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta; Martin Luther King Jr.’s former congregation. Born and raised in Georgia, he would become the state’s first Black Senator and during his campaign, he talked candidly about race and racism, addressing the ways in which COVID-19 has affected the Black community. During the race, more than 100 religious leaders condemned Loeffler’s criticism of Warnock’s sermons as “radically liberal,” calling it an attack on the Black religious community in Georgia.

The race was predictably tight; with many glued to The New York Times’ “Needle” and Steve Kornacki’s analysis on MSNBC all night. Warnock won by a slim margin. It has been ugly at times, with both Loeffler and Perdue calling their opponents “radicals” and “socialists” to scare their supporters, and backing the doomed Republican effort to challenge Joe Biden’s win in Congress. The presidential race played a significant background role during the runoffs, with Trump trying to sow disinformation about both races: In his latest attempt to subvert the results, Trump reportedly called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding that he “find” the 11,780 votes needed for him to defeat Biden. Democrats, meanwhile, accused the GOP candidates of profiting off the pandemic and helping Trump undermine democracy.

The work of organizations such as Black Voters Matter and its co-founders LaTosha Brown and Cliff Albright have made a huge difference in this race; Black Voters Matter and others turned out a crucial, enthusiastic number of Black voters, who account for 33% of the state’s electorate. The group focused on more than asking for people’s vote, handing out groceries to families around the state and offering free COVID testing during its voter-outreach efforts. Countless other organizations large and small focused on getting out the vote to crucial demographics such as Black women, young people, and immigrant populations.

“So I come before you tonight as a man who knows that the improbable journey that led me to this place, in this historic moment in America, could only happen here,” Warnock said. “We were told that we couldn’t win this election, but tonight, we proved that with hope, hard work, and the people by our side, anything is possible.”

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Natalie Gontcharova, Khareem Sudlow