Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker faced her toughest candidacy challenge yet on Tuesday, as the twins scandal undermined his efforts to overthrow the freshman Democratic Senate seat. Raphael Warnock.
Late Monday night, the Daily Beast ran a story saying Walker encouraged his ex-girlfriend to have an abortion and wrote a check to pay for the surgery. The anonymous woman provided the Daily Beast with supporting documents, including receipts from the clinic, bank deposit receipts that included images of Walker’s checks, and a “Get Well Soon” card signed by future Georgia candidates.
“I couldn’t be more hypocritical,” the woman told The Daily Beast. “We all deserve better.”
Walker, who has said he is against abortion under any circumstances, has denied the allegation, calling it a partisan crackdown effort, and promised to sue The Daily Beast by Tuesday morning.
“This is an outright lie – which I deny in the strongest terms,” he said in a statement.
Following the report, Walker’s son, a conservative social media influencer, brought new allegations of abuse and flirting against his father.
“I know my mom and would be so grateful if my dad Herschel Walker would stop lying and laughing at us,” Christian Walker tweeted. “You’re not a ‘family man’ when you leave us to scare a bunch of women, threaten to kill us, and make us move more than 6 times in 6 months because of your violence.”
The report and the younger Walker’s comments represent the latest in a string of unfavorable stories that have haunted Walker’s campaign since the start of his campaign.
Christian Walker was thought to be his only child when Herschel Walker threw the hat into the ring, but he later admitted the other three children were of different mothers.
Christian Walker’s mother has accused her ex-husband of violence, including holding a gun to her head and threatening to kill her. Multiple reports suggest he fabricated or exaggerated details about his business interests and law enforcement background.
Walker admitted to having a history of mental illness and described negative stories about his past as partisan attacks.
does it matter?
So far, Walker’s baggage hasn’t kept him out of trouble. The Real Clear Politics average of recent polls shows Warnock has a margin of less than 1 per cent and could face a December runoff vote. Jason Sheppard, a Kennesaw State University political science professor and former chairman of the Cobb County Republican Party, said all polls were conducted before the new allegations, and it remains to be seen how swing voters will react.
Cobb County, once a conservative bastion, voted Democrat in the most recent election. But because of its large population, it could still provide plenty of raw votes to support Republicans in a tight race statewide, and both campaigns seek to appeal to swing voters in the suburbs.
Many of these voters are probably more worried about their wallets than Walker’s family drama or alleged hypocrisy.
“When they go to the voting screen or see the absentee ballots in front of them, is it these issues, or the fact that the price of a dozen eggs has nearly doubled, there’s a butter shortage, gas prices are still above $3 a gallon, these economies Question?” said the shepherd.
A Monmouth University poll released Monday found that 82 percent of respondents called inflation “extremely or very important,” while only 30 percent approved of President Joe Biden’s handling of the issue. Sheppard’s best advice to Walker is to talk about inflation.
“He needs to be hyper-focused on his message. He needs to neutralize the attack, but then he needs to get back to the message, and the message is the economy,” he said. “If you like the way the Democrat-majority economy works, vote for Warnock, but it’s hard to find someone who likes the way the Democratic-majority economy works.”
Another potential danger for Walker is the loss of party support. With the balance of power in play in the Senate, both sides are spending a lot of money in the state.
“The question is, when you’re talking about a statewide campaign in an expensive media market, will Walker get enough money through Georgia donors to raise money, or will the National Republican Senate committee look at Walker’s campaign campaign and say, “Well, we’ve spent enough money here, let’s focus on Pennsylvania or Wisconsin or some other state,” Sheppard said. “That’s for Herschel Walker. Really dangerous. “
Committee Chair Florida Senator. Rick Scott has expressed support for Walker, calling the allegations against Walker a politically motivated lie.
“It’s like they’re trying to slander Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, and it’s not going to work,” Scott said in a statement. “Herschel denies the allegations, the NRSC and the Republicans support him, and so will the Georgians.”
Former President Donald Trump’s support helped Walker win the nomination, and he responded to Scott in a statement.
“They’re trying to destroy a guy who has really great things in the future like he had great athleticism in the past,” Trump said. “Herschel Walker winning this election is great for our country and for the great state of Georgia. It’s very important. What Herschel has accomplished, when you’re from Georgia and you see the name Herschel Walker on the ballot, it’s hard to resist. No!”
“The real story here is that everyone deserves this right”
Warnock did not comment directly on the allegations, but other Georgia Democrats handed Walker over to the task on Tuesday.
State Sen. Nikki Merritt, a Democrat from Grayson, said the news underscored the “hypocrisy” surrounding very personal medical decisions.
“I think it underscores the complexity of the issue and that it’s not a partisan decision — obviously. I don’t care what Herschel ostensibly says, but we have evidence that he thinks differently,” Merritt said Tuesday.
Roe v. Wade was overturned in the U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Most Republican candidates have avoided the topic, but Walker has publicly supported banning abortion without exception. And as a U.S. Senator. Lindsey Graham proposed a 15-week ban, and Walker was one of the few Republicans who said he would support if elected.
“Every woman has a story of loss, miscarriage, wanting to get pregnant, not wanting to get pregnant. Obviously, most Republicans have stories too,” said the Atlanta Democratic senator. Jen Jordan, who is running for attorney general, said when asked about Walker.
“Autonomy, contraception and health care shouldn’t be a partisan issue,” Jordan added. “Unfortunately, it has become one, if women in this state want to continue to be able to make choices about their lives and their bodies — like What Herschel Walker can do – then they need to vote Democrat.”
NARAL Pro-Choice America President Mini Timmaraju, who announced the results of a new poll Tuesday in Atlanta, said she welcomes any attention that reports of Walker’s past may bring to reproductive health and abortion services.
“But the real story here is that everyone should have this right. Everyone should have access. And in Georgia today, they don’t,” Timaraju said.
The group’s New Georgia poll by EMC Research found that 62 percent of respondents opposed the recent overturn of Roe v. Wade and the state’s six-week ban on most abortions. Polls show that 86 percent of black men disagree with the Supreme Court ruling.
This story was published earlier by the Georgia Recorder, an affiliate of the nonprofit National Newsroom Network, which includes Phoenix, Florida.