ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., raised more than $9.8 million toward his reelection bid during the fourth quarter of last year, slightly exceeding his third-quarter total and significantly outdistancing Republican rival Herschel Walker.
Warnock’s fourth-quarter fundraising results raised total campaign war chest to $23 million.
“As Reverend Warnock continues to fight for hardworking Georgia families, the enthusiasm behind Reverend Warnock’s campaign continues to grow,” campaign manager Quentin Fulks said. “After driving another record-breaking fundraising haul, our strong network of grassroots support is fired up to send Reverend Warnock back to the Senate to fight for Georgia.”
Walker raised more than $5.4 million during the fourth quarter, the former University of Georgia football star’s campaign reported Wednesday.
His fundraising during October, November and December brought his total to nearly $10 million since he entered the race for the GOP nomination to oppose Warnock five months ago.
“Team Herschel is so grateful for our friends and supporters across Georgia and the United States who are helping our campaign,” Walker said.“As we travel all over the Peach State, we are meeting thousands of hardworking Georgians who are fed up with the direction our country is headed.”
Walker has the backing of former President Donald Trump, who urged him to run. Trump and Walker have known each other since Walker signed on to play for Trump’s New Jersey-based United States Football League team in 1983.
Walker’s fourth-quarter contributions came from 44,364 individual donors in all 50 states.
Warnock brought in donations from more than 130,000 contributors. The average donation was $43.
Walker and Warnock will file additional details of their fourth-quarter fundraising by the Jan. 31 deadline set by the Federal Election Commission.
Walker likely will lead the other candidates in May’s Republican Senate primary in the money race. The rest of the GOP field includes Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, banking executive Latham Saddler and small business owner Kelvin King.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.