If you’ve ever heard Georgia Republican senate candidate Herschel Walker speak, it’s difficult to understand how he and Sen. Raphael Warnock are running nearly neck and neck in the polls. Between the tsunami of lies uncovered about Walker’s past to his completely incoherent theories about COVID-19, climate change, and evolution, he’s the GOP’s man in Georgia and a football legend, so he’s staying in the game.
Georgia is not a blue state—not yet anyway—and this year’s midterm will certainly feel like a 2020 Groundhog Day if Warnock can’t clear the 50% mark in November. In Georgia, a candidate must get a majority vote. Otherwise, the top two nominees must head into a special election runoff—the exact same situation that happened in 2020 in the senate race between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican David Perdue.
Democrats are, once again, in a battle for control of the Senate. Sukari Johnson, chair of Clayton County Democratic Party, tells Politico. “Nobody wants a runoff… Because it’s very difficult for people to come back out, and at that point, you’re spending time and money to get people to come back out. And nobody wants to do that after November.”
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As Politico reports, another fly in the ointment is Libertarian Chase Oliver, who is taking a few much-needed points from both Warnock and Walker. According to FiveThirtyEight, Warnock is polling at 47.2%, with Walker at 44.2%.
Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich told Politico he believes Warnock could win, but only if the campaign “is a small race, and it’s just down to two personalities.” But, he adds, if it’s a “big race,” then “it comes down to Warnock’s being part of 9% inflation and the highest price gas in history, and you can go down the list, then I think Warnock loses.”
As we reported last week, the Trump-endorsed Walker finally agreed to debate Warnock after months of hemming and hawing. And only after Walker’s camp ran a 30-second ad calling for Walker to “stop dodging” and “commit to debates.”
Understandable that Walker would be terrified to face the incumbent senator and senior pastor at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church and be forced to defend how his COVID-19 spray works or why he hid from the public and his own campaign staff that he’d fathered three children. Or how he said he’d graduated from college but didn’t. Or certainly why he said he’d co-founded a veterans organization when he didn’t. Not to mention his history of domestic violence.
Dodging debates is nothing new for Georgia’s cowardly Republican nominees. Walker refused to debate during the primaries in May, and in 2018, Gov. Brian Kemp refused a final debate with Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams.
According to The Black Wall Street Times, Walker is polling unfavorably among Georgia’s Black voters. Results found that 80% of Black voters plan to vote for Warnock. Walker has continually refused to accept the results of that poll.
In a statement sent to Politico, Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s campaign manager, said, “There are going to be polls in all directions over the course of this campaign. Here’s what we know: this race will be close, which is why we can’t take anything for granted and are working hard every day to reelect Reverend Warnock.”
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