Wednesday was a day of a roller coaster of emotions.
I woke up ready to celebrate the victory of my Morehouse brother, Senator-elect the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who beat the odds and was elected the first African American Senator from the state of Georgia with the aid of my Spelman sister, Stacey Abrams. On top of that, Jon Ossoff looked poised to take the other seat, giving the Democrats control of the Senate!
 As I sat down in my “Undaunted…Spelman College” T-shirt, in honor of Georgia, to watch the debate over the certification of the electoral college votes in Congress, I was shocked by the actions of those spurred on by our outgoing president to storm the Capitol and wreak havoc on the process. I watched in disbelief as the rioters took over the floors of Congress, roamed the halls of our hallowed building, and endangered the lives of members of Congress and the Senate, their staff, and other support people there to do the people’s business. Our Capitol was under attack and our democracy was under attack, spurred by the highest elected official in the land.  Â
Then, hours later, after control was restored, a determined Congress reconvened to complete the work they started earlier in the day. And while many of the Republicans lost steam to do the outgoing president’s bidding of opposing the legal outcomes of certain states, they voted in favor of two objections: Arizona and Pennsylvania. Those efforts were not successful in getting the results overturned so incoming President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were finally certified in Congress.Â
Regrettably, our Congressman, Dan Bishop, was among the 147 Republicans who voted against the certification of those two states. He cast that vote despite the chaos that the angry mob wreaked while he and his colleagues were in the U.S. Capitol and the deaths that had occurred. Dan Bishop once again demonstrated that he puts politics above people and isn’t fit to lead. Â
 And as harrowing and upsetting as the events of the day were, we ended on a high note with the announcement that Jon Ossoff had, indeed, defeated David Perdue and would be sworn in as the 50th Democratic senator. Stacey’s hard work has been realized and will set a course for a different Biden-Harris administration.
On Wednesday, the pillars of democracy were tested in a way we haven’t seen in many years. The cracks left are deep, and it still feels a little unsteady. But I am hopeful for the rest of 2021 with the coming Biden-Harris administration and a return to competent and caring leadership. I’m optimistic that our nation can heal, and our elected officials can solve some of the biggest issues facing our nation…together.
Cynthia Wallace is the former 9th District Democratic nominee for the U.S. House of Representatives.
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