ATLANTA – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican challenger Herschel Walker traded policy positions and took jabs at each other’s personal histories Friday night during what likely will be their sole debate before Georgia voters decide who to send to Washington.
Recent allegations that former University of Georgia football star Walker paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion despite his public pro-life stance put questions of character and reputation center stage.
Walker is seeking to unseat Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. The race has drawn national attention – and dollars – because its outcome could determine the party balance of the currently 50-50 Senate.
Warnock repeatedly criticized Walker’s honesty.
“My opponent has a problem with the truth,” he said.
Walker tied Warnock to President Joe Biden over and over, blaming inflation and a host of other problems on the Democratic duo.
“You have to blame this administration and Senator Warnock because within two years, this inflation has gotten worse,” Walker said. “They cut out energy independence. They also raised taxes.”
Walker said he would focus on boosting U.S. energy independence to address inflation.
Warnock rebutted the claim that he had raised taxes, pointing to his support for the Child Tax Credit and his work to include caps on the costs of prescription drugs and insulin in the Inflation Reduction Act recently passed by Congress.
Warnock also praised Biden’s recent decision to forgive some student loan debt and said more help is needed. Walker called the loan forgiveness “unfair” and said people should not have to pay for someone else’s loan.
“That was a lie and I’m not backing down,” Walker said when asked about the recent allegations that he paid for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion.
Walker added that he supported Georgia’s heartbeat law, which bans most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, but evaded answering a question about whether he would support a nationwide total ban on abortions.
Warnock grounded his pro-choice stance in his belief in women’s privacy and theology.
“A patient’s room is too narrow and small and cramped a space for a woman, her doctor and the United States government,” Warnock said. “I’m a man of faith and I have a profound reverence for life and a deep respect for choice.”
Georgia should also expand Medicaid, Warnock said. Doing so would save the state money and help people access health care, he said.
“Georgia needs a senator who believes like I do that health care is a human right,” he said.
“What I want you to do is get off the government health care,” Walker shot back. “That’s what I’m trying to do, to make you independent rather than dependent.”
On crime, Warnock pointed to his support for increased funding and resources for local law enforcement departments. And he said he is pleased about a new gun safety law Congress passed in June.
In contrast, Walker emphasized his strong support for the Second Amendment right to bear arms and painted Warnock as soft on crime.
“He’s empowered criminals to think they’re better than the police, and he believes in no-cash bail and releasing prisoners,” Walker said. “He don’t protect the border. Fentanyl is coming into this country and also Atlanta.”
The debate took an unusual turn when Warnock criticized Walker’s claims to have worked for the FBI and other law enforcement departments in the past.
“I’ve never pretended to be a police officer, and I have never threatened a shootout with the police,” Warnock said, referring to an incident when Walker allegedly threatened his ex-wife with a gun.
In response, Walker pulled out a badge that he said proved he had served on a police force, leading one of the debate hosts to chide him for breaking a debate rule against bringing props on stage.
Both candidates said they would accept the results of the next election. Walker said he would support another Donald Trump run for the presidency, while Warnock did not directly answer whether he would support a Biden run in 2024.
The race is in a dead heat, according to a Capitol Beat/Georgia News Collaborative poll of 1,030 likely general election voters released this week.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has opened a double-digit lead over Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams, according to a poll released Wednesday.
However, Georgia’s U.S. Senate race is in a dead heat, the Capitol Beat/Georgia News Collaborative Poll found in a survey of 1,030 likely general election voters conducted Sept. 15-Oct. 4 by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs.
The survey found state Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, with a slight lead for the open lieutenant governor’s seat over Democrat Charlie Bailey.
GOP incumbents hold a solid lead in both the races for attorney general and secretary of state, according to the poll.
Kemp drew the support of 51% of poll respondents to 40.7% for Abrams, giving the governor a lead of 10.3%. Libertarian Shane Hazel was a distant third with 2.3%, while 6% of those surveyed were undecided.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., was favored by 46.4% of the poll respondents, to 43.4% for Republican challenger Herschel Walker. Given the poll’s margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, the race is essentially tied. Chase Oliver, the Libertarian candidate, trailed at 4.1%, while 6.1% of those surveyed were undecided.
Support for Jones stood at 43.5%, with 38.8% of survey respondents favoring Bailey. Factoring in the margin of error left Jones with a slight lead over his Democratic rival for lieutenant governor. Libertarian Ryan Graham was third at 4.0%, and 13.8% of respondents were undecided.
While Kemp polled slightly above the 50%-plus-one margin needed to avoid a Dec. 6 runoff, the race for Senate and possibly the contest for lieutenant governor could be headed toward an extra round of voting.
The survey found Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger well ahead of state Rep. Bee Nguyen, 47.9% to 33.9%. Libertarian Ted Metz stood third at 6.3%, with 11.8% undecided.
Likewise, GOP Attorney General Chris Carr held a strong lead over Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan, 47.4% to 38.8%. Libertarian Martin Cowen trailed at 3.6%, with 10.2% undecided.
Although both Raffensperger and Carr were short of the margin needed to win the Nov. 8 election outright, the large percentage of undecided voters left room for the two incumbents to get over the threshold.
Kemp’s lead over Abrams in the gubernatorial contest has widened over recent polls.
“I think he’s done a good job,” said Misty Dunn, 45, an archaeologist from Meriwether County, a regular Republican voter who supports Kemp even though she disagrees with his staunch opposition to abortion.
“I can’t vote the other way on that one issue,” Dunn said.
Aaron Williams, 42 of McDonough, who works for a telecommunications company, said he plans to vote for Abrams primarily because she is not a Republican, a party he has soured on.
“The conservative side has gone full on hypocrisy,” Williams said. “I can’t get behind a single conservative candidate.”
Wendy Meehan, 72, of Madison County, said she will vote to elect Warnock to a full Senate term because her positions in favor of Medicaid expansion and against the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the constitutional right to abortion align with the Democrats.
Meehan said she doesn’t believe Walker is qualified to serve in the Senate.
“He should not be a Senate candidate,” she said. “Georgia could do much better than him.”
Lisa Elias, 53, a business owner from Gainesville, said she liked Walker when she saw him speak at her church.
“He seemed like a good man,” Elias said. “I’m a Christian, and I’m conservative in my values.”
But some Republican voters are starting to have concerns about Walker following allegations of violence against his ex-wife and that he paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion.
“If these things are true, that’s horrible,” said Sarah Simcox, 56, a kindergarten teacher in Forsyth County. “But I think politically he might be better [than Warnock]. … I’m struggling with it. It’s going to take a lot of prayer.”
Black voters who responded to the poll overwhelmingly preferred Democrats Abrams and Warnock, not surprising since most Black voters support Democratic candidates. But Warnock outperformed Abrams among that group of voters, 89% to 80.7%.
Walker, a former University of Georgia football star, drew only 2% support among Black voters, while Kemp was preferred by 8% of Black survey respondents.
Kemp held a solid lead over Abrams among men, 58% to 33.3%. Walker’s lead among men was strong but not as large as Kemp’s. Walker was supported by 52.5% of men who responded to the poll, compared to 37.7% favoring Warnock.
Warnock, however, enjoyed a huge lead among women, 53.6% to 36.3% for Walker. Women were much more evenly divided in the governor’s race, with 46.6% preferring Abrams to 45.4% supporting Kemp.
Broken down by age, Kemp held the edge among all groups except for those between the ages of 30 and 44. Among that group, Abrams led 50.6% to 39%.
Warnock led decisively among younger voters, those between the ages of 18 and 44. Walker turned the tables with a solid lead among the 45-64 age group and a smaller lead among voters 65 and older.
Kemp polled strongest among voters with a high school education or less, while Abrams’ biggest advantage was among college graduates.
The same was true in the Senate race, with Walker scoring highest among those with a high school diploma or less, and Warnock’s best showing coming from poll respondents with a college degree.
The poll was conducted via telephone, about 90% through cellphone interviews and 10% over landline connections.
The survey results were weighted to represent respondents proportionally in terms of race, sex, age, and education.
Staff writer Rebecca Grapevine contributed to this report.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker speaks to a supporter after his campaign stop in Carrollton on Tuesday (photo credit: Rebecca Grapevine).
CARROLLTON – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker spoke to supporters at a campaign stop in Carrollton Tuesday but did not directly address recent unfavorable allegations about his payment for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion and violence against his ex-wife.
In the past few weeks, Walker has faced a string of troubling allegations. His son, Christian Walker, took to social media to criticize his father’s violence and parenting.
And the Republican’s staunch anti-abortion stance has been called into question by allegations from an ex-girlfriend who said Walker had paid for her abortion in 2009 and pressured her to get an abortion when she became pregnant a second time. Walker has denied the allegations.
But during Tuesday’s West Georgia campaign stop, fellow Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Tom Cotton of Arkansas praised Walker before a cheering crowd of supporters in a local shopping center parking lot.
Walker did not directly address the recent allegations against him at the rally but suggested that the claims are political smears aimed at dividing his followers.
“They’ll do what it takes because they want this seat,” Walker said.
Walker also spoke about his core campaign themes: inflation, crime, drug trafficking, and what he termed “wokeness” in American society, which encompasses social themes such as transgender rights and racism.
“Have you seen that [Southern] border wide open?” Walker asked, saying his Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock had done nothing to help build a wall on the border in two years in office.
Walker also criticized a move to grant transgender rights within the U.S. military.
“These are wartimes. What happened to push-ups? Iran and Russia are not talking about pronouns,” Walker said to cheers from the crowd.
And Walker took aim at Warnock, who is seeking a full term in the Senate in November. Warnock is the longtime pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former church of Martin Luther King Jr.
“All he [Warnock] talks about is the color of your skin,” Walker said. “Has he ever heard of forgiveness? Has he ever heard of redemption?
“They want to tell white kids, ‘You’re an oppressor.’ They want to tell Black kids, ‘You’re a victim.’ … Don’t let them separate you.”
Walker’s decision to campaign with Scott, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the GOP’s Senate campaign arm, drew criticism from Democrats.
“Walker’s embrace of Rick Scott – and his disastrous plan to slash Medicare and Social Security highlights just how much is at stake for Georgians in this U.S. Senate race,” said Dan Gottlieb, a spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia.
“While Rev. Warnock fought to lower prescription drug costs for Georgia seniors and protect Social Security, Herschel Walker is campaigning with Rick Scott, who’s fighting to cut Social Security for more than 1.9 million Georgians who rely on it,” said Sarafina Chitika, press secretary for Warnock. “Georgia seniors deserve a senator who will stand up for them, not someone who sees a friend in a politician who wants to slash their benefits.”
With just one month to go in the nationally watched Senate race that could determine the party balance in Washington, both candidates are benefitting from an influx of cash.
During the third quarter, the Warnock campaign raised about $26 million, while Walker raised about $12 million.
However, the Walker campaign said his fundraising amount was the largest quarterly total for any Republican U.S. Senate candidate in this election cycle.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Political action committees supporting U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Republican challenger Herschel Walker released ads Tuesday accusing each other of domestic violence.
Warnock’s ad, funded by the Democrat-aligned PAC Georgia Honor, features the words of Walker’s son, Christian, a Republican activist who lashed out at his father last week following a media report alleging Walker had paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion in 2011.
Walker showed up at his ex-wife’s home with a gun and refused to leave, the younger Walker said.
“[Herschel Walker] threatened to kill us and had us move six times in six months running from [his] violence,” the ad’s narrator went on, quoting charges Christian Walker leveled at his father Oct. 3 in a social media thread.
Walker’s PAC, 34N22, countered Tuesday with an ad showing recently uncovered Bodycam footage of Warnock’s ex-wife during a domestic violence altercation in March 2020.
Ouleye Nodoye is shown in tears accusing Warnock of running over her foot with his car.
“Warnock ran over his wife with his car, refused to pay child support, and neglected the terms of his divorce,” 34N22 spokesman Stephen Lawson said. “He continues to throw stones in a glass house, and his blatant hypocrisy will now be on full display for Georgia voters.”
The dueling ads come just days before Walker and Warnock are due to meet in what apparently will be the only debate of the campaign. The two will share the same stage Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. in Savannah.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker raised more than $12 million during the last three months, the former University of Georgia football star’s campaign reported Wednesday.
That’s less than half of the more than $26 million incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., raised during the third quarter.
But the Walker campaign boasted his haul during July, August, and September was the largest quarterly total for any Republican Senate candidate during this election cycle.
“My team and I have traveled to every corner of Georgia, and everywhere we go, people have made it clear that Raphael Warnock has sided with [President] Joe Biden and left them behind,” Walker said in a statement released Wednesday.
“The people are so fired up for a new warrior in Washington that they have literally put their money where their mouths are.”
Walker’s campaign manager, Scott Paradise, criticized Warnock for running “a gutter campaign focused on lies and personal attacks.”
The Warnock campaign has bombed the airwaves with TV ads calling attention to Walker’s violent past, including holding a gun to the temple of his ex-wife Cindy Grossman.
Walker has responded that he was suffering from dissociative identity disorder at that time, a mental illness from which he said he has recovered.
Walker’s campaign reported Wednesday that the challenger had more than $7 million cash on hand as of the end of last month. A day earlier, the Warnock campaign reported $13.7 million cash on hand through Sept. 30.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
