Folksy Republican Herschel Walker is leveraging decades of goodwill in Georgia to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in a December runoff but is running into the same obstacles that left him gasping for air in second place on Nov. 8.
Walker, a former professional football player, is beloved in the Peach State for leading the University of Georgia to a national championship in 1980. But he finished behind Warnock in the initial round of voting in the midterm elections as voters stuck with a Democratic incumbent focused on kitchen table issues and shunned the GOP challenger campaigning as a “warrior for God.”
“People don’t have as much of a reason to hold their nose this time,” a Georgia GOP strategist added. “If he can narrow the spending disparity, he has a shot.” Doubts about Walker among swing voters and soft Republicans, stemming from the candidate’s checkered past, clearly hampered his Senate campaign — despite his fame in Georgia for his football heroics. Walker’s association with former President Donald Trump, who recruited him to challenge Warnock, also cast a cloud over his Senate bid, as happened in congressional and gubernatorial contests in other states.
Republicans in Washington also are helping, although not necessarily rowing in the same direction, as the National Republican Senatorial Committee, helmed by Sen. Rick Scott , and the Senate Leadership Fund, aligned with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , trade blame for the GOP’s midterm election failures. The feud threatens to drag Walker down, although both organizations are investing significant resources in the race, as is the pro-Walker super PAC"34N22.
Walker is charismatic and engaging on the stump. Having never run for office before, he can run against Washington, often a winning strategy. Biden’s unpopularity and voter anxiety fueled by inflation, crime, and border security are assets in his bid to oust Warnock, who advanced to the Senate by defeating appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a Jan. 5, 2021, runoff. But Walker had the same advantages on Nov. 8 and still came up short.
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