{"id":2102,"date":"2026-09-02T11:23:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=2102"},"modified":"2026-09-02T11:23:02","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T11:23:02","slug":"raphael-warnock-has-done-it-adam-hamilton-wants-to-follow-as-a-pastor-us-senator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uscnews.org\/?p=2102","title":{"rendered":"Raphael Warnock has done it. Adam Hamilton wants to follow as a pastor-US senator"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Rev. Raphael Warnock delivers a sermon during a church service at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on Sunday Jan. 18, 2009. (AP Photo\/John Amis, File)<\/small><\/p>\n

2026-09-02T11:05:31Z<\/p>\n

If Kansas megachurch pastor and Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton manages to pull off an upset victory in his race for a U.S. Senate seat, he\u2019d join a very small group. In the past 100 years, only incumbent Raphael Warnock of Georgia has accomplished what Hamilton aspires to do: serve in the Senate while continuing to lead his congregation.<\/p>\n

Warnock has continued to preach regularly as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church<\/a><\/span> in Atlanta since his election as Georgia\u2019s first Black senator in 2021. <\/p>\n

Hamilton has made clear that if he wins, he would like to continue as senior pastor<\/a><\/span> \u2014 preaching 12 to 18 times a year \u2014 at the Church of the Resurrection. With roughly 25,000 members in the Kansas City area, it\u2019s the nation\u2019s largest United Methodist church.<\/p>\n

Warnock, in a video on U.S. Senate Democrats\u2019 Facebook page, discusses how he melds his political and pastoral careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are both about working for people even as you walk alongside them,\u201d he said. \u201cI have always been engaged in a kind of ministry that takes you far beyond the sanctuary to the streets, far beyond preaching to the public square.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only a few other ordained clergy have served in the Senate<\/h2>\n

Aside from Warnock, only a few other ordained ministers have been in the Senate in recent decades, but none who strived to simultaneously lead a church of their own.<\/p>\n

John Danforth, who served from 1976 to 1995 as a Republican senator from Missouri, is an Episcopal priest who also worked as an attorney and diplomat. In 2004, he presided over Ronald Reagan\u2019s funeral at Washington National Cathedral.<\/p>\n

Hamilton said in an interview that Danforth has been an inspiration and mentor for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talked to Jack before I got into this. I actually phoned him up and just said, \u2018Hey, help me understand, how does this fit together?\u2019\u201d Hamilton said. \u201cHe and I share a lot about trying to bring people together, as opposed to dividing people, trying to lead from the center.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n