Raphael Warnock builds war chest ahead of Senate race in face of new voting restrictions

House Democrats’ latest voting rights legislation is sure to become a top issue in at least one 2022 Senate campaign: That of Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock (D). House Democrats introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act on Tuesday, a bill they hope can be used as a tool to respond to the influx of voting restrictions in Republican-led states like Georgia.

The bill focuses on the restoration of preclearance measures, which restrict a state, city or any other smaller governing body from changing local voting laws without getting approval from the Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia for 10 years or more if the body has a history of racially discriminatory voting practices. Preclearance measures were a significant part of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965, but were struck down in a 2013 Supreme Court decision.

Warnock waged his 2020 special election campaign as a voting rights candidate, running on a platform that included the passage of the John Lewis Act and making Election Day a holiday. Warnock won his runoff campaign after raising $125 million, and spending $103 million. In comparison, his Republican opponent, then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), raised $92 million and spent $71 million. 

And Warnock is looking to build on his fundraising power. Ahead of the 2022 race, Warnock has raised$32.1 million, but some of those contributions may have been raised after the January runoff campaign. His most prominent potential challenger, former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), raised money for a possible 2022 run, around $1.7 million by the end of the second financial quarter of 2021. But he announced earlier this year that he would not run for the Senate seat. 

Around $17 million, or nearly half, of Warnock’s funds come from small dollar donations (individual donations under $200 dollars). And he had $10.5 million in cash at the end of June.

Latham Saddler, a former Trump administration official and Navy SEAL, has raked in the highest contributions among the Republicans still active in the race, with around $1.4 million, followed by Gary Black, the current Georgia agricultural commissioner, with $703,020 and Kelvin King, a metroAtlanta businessman has raised $680,000. [MORE]