Ga. football fans power Walker’s bid
But history makes him a risky hopeful for the US Senate
LaGRANGE, Ga. — Most came dressed in University of Georgia jerseys, hats and T-shirts. Some carried footballs and framed posters. It was a campaign stop for a Senate candidate, but for many Georgians who came to see Herschel Walker, politics was hardly the only draw.
“It’s ‘Herschel, Herschel, Herschel’ — he doesn’t even have to have his last name,” said Gail Hunnicutt, a Walker fan since he dominated the University of Georgia football program from 1980 to 1982, winning the Heisman Trophy and unending adoration from many in football-obsessed Georgia. “I’m wondering why he wants to jump into the mess of Washington politics. But we’re proud to have him there.”
Walker is a risky choice for a Republican Party desperately trying to win back a Senate seat lost in the state’s Democratic wave two years ago. He has never held elected office, and he lived in Texas for the better part of the last decade. He has been accused of domestic abuse and has acknowledged violent thoughts as part of his past struggles with mental illness. He has made exaggerated and false claims about his business success, according to local news reports. And his public speeches are characterized by unclear and sometimes meandering talking points.
But little of this seems to matter to the Republican voters embracing his Senate primary campaign. Walker’s one-name-only fame has propelled him to the top of the field. In less than nine months as a candidate, he has amassed $10 million in cash. He campaigns with no fear of his primary opponents and all the confidence of an all-star athlete.
“I go into these cities and give people hope,” Walker said last week in an interview at a meet-and-greet event in LaGrange, a small town about an hour southwest of Atlanta. “Most everybody in Georgia knows who I am. The people that want to try to deny they know who I am aren’t from Georgia. Let’s be real.”
But even some Republicans worry their party is being blinded by fandom. Walker may be on track for victory in the May 24 primary, but he faces a harder challenge against Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Warnock, the freshman Democrat, has raised more than $13 million in the last three months, according to campaign finance data, and he will be backed by national Democrats eager to prove their 2020 victories were more than just a rejection of former President Donald Trump, but instead were a permanent shift in a rapidly changing Southern state.
Warnock’s campaign declined to comment.
Walker campaigns as both a political outsider and a celebrity, drawing comparisons to Trump, whose friendship and early endorsement have lifted Walker’s prospects. But unlike Trump, Walker eschews large events and spends most of his time at private fundraisers, listening sessions and smallscale grassroots events with limited media access. In speeches, he zigzags from hot-button issues such as transgender students’ participation in high school sports, to riffs on the mechanics of his campaign.
“When I decided to run a lot of people called. The senators called and said, ‘Herschel can you raise the money? Herschel can you get people to cross over?’ I’m doing both,” Walker said, alluding to some Republicans’ concerns about his appeal to Democratic and independent voters.
Despite his war chest, Walker has not yet bought any television or radio advertisements. He skipped the first primary debate in April and has not committed to attending another scheduled for May 3.
That has prompted some supporters to question his strategy. Debra Jo Steele, a county party official who attended Walker’s event wearing a navy blue Trump cap, asked Walker directly why he did not attend the Senate debate.
Walker said he was out of town, receiving a business leadership award.
Gary Black, the state agriculture commissioner and next highest-polling candidate in the Senate race, is the loudest Republican voice against Walker. Black has tried to highlight Walker’s turbulent past and argue that he is unelectable in the fall.
“If Herschel Walker is the nominee for the Republican Party in Georgia, the race will be about Herschel Walker,” Black said. “If I’m the nominee, the race will be about Raphael Warnock and why we should fire him.”
In March, Black’s campaign launched a website detailing the accusations of violence, complete with a 2-minute advertisement listing them. A super PAC supporting Black’s candidacy, Defend Georgia, has said it plans to help spend millions on ads carrying a similar message, though none have aired. Their goal is to pull Walker below a 50% threshold, forcing a runoff. Recent polls show Walker winning nearly two-thirds of Republican primary voters.
Walker’s ex-wife has accused him of attacking and threatening to kill her. Walker hasn’t denied the allegations, but he and his campaign have denied accusations made by two other women who say he threatened and stalked them. In his book published in 2008 and later interviews, he attributed past erratic and threatening behavior to a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder.
For some Republicans, that explanation is part of Walker’s appeal.
“He’s adjusted to every circumstance in every situation, where he was,” Hunnicutt said. When asked if she could see herself supporting any other Republican in the race, she replied quickly.
“No,” she said. “And I know who they are.”