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Marquita Bradshaw was the only Black woman to win a U.S. Senate primary this cycle. She lost the general election for a Tennessee Senate seat.
On the day that California Gov. Gavin Newsom named Kamala Harris replacement in the U.S. Senate, Molly Watson jumped on a call with other organizers and the two Black women in Congress whom they had urged Newsom to appoint to the seat instead.
It was an emotional conversation, in which Watson said she struggled to hold back tears. It cut pretty deep knowing that we were going to be fully erased from the Senate, said Watson, of the progressive group Courage California.
POLITICO
Warnock win puts spotlight on Senate s shortcomings
Why is the Senate so white? “The barriers of entry are very high. It’s a system of elitism.”
Democratic U.S. Senate challenger Rev. Raphael Warnock waves to the crowd as he leaves the stage during a drive-in rally, Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021, in Savannah, Ga. | AP Photo/Stephen B. Morton
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The Rev. Raphael Warnock joined an elite class of Black politicians when he upset incumbent Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in Georgia this week. He will be the 11th African American to ever serve in the chamber.
His challenge, however, will be staying there.