In Georgia, Herschel Walker, a former star football player, is running to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. He is one of the biggest names on the list of midterm candidates endorsed by Donald Trump.
Walker, who has no previous political experience, entered the race last August and is expected to cruise to the GOP nomination in next week’s primary election.
He fronts the GOP’s attempt to wrestle back control of a once dependably red state that flipped blue in 2020 and the Senate, where runoff election victories by Warnock and Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff gave Democrats a razor-thin majority.
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Who is Herschel Walker?
Walker is a former running back who led a formidable NFL career, most of it spent with the Dallas Cowboys.
But he gained most acclaim from his college football career at the University of Georgia, where he led the Bulldogs to a championship and won the 1982 Heisman trophy, awarded to the best player in college football.
Walker can claim no prior experience holding public office, but he has voiced his political opinions for years. The Wrightsville, Georgia-raised Walker was an early supporter of Trump’s presidential run. He backed the former president in 2015 and has been a vocal ally since, campaigning on Trump’s behalf.
Trump appointed Walker to the President’s Council on Sports and Fitness and Nutrition in 2018, but Biden bumped Walker and Senate candidate Mehmet Oz from the council in March in light of their respective runs for office.
Walker touts on his campaign website his success running his own food service businesses and his country Georgia roots as valuable experience for the Senate job.
Many have signaled concerns about Walker’s past. An Associated Press report revealed claims made by Walker’s ex-wife Cindy Grossman of physical and verbal abuse. When asked about his relationship with Grossman, Walker told Axios “I’m accountable to whatever I’ve done.”
Another woman claimed that Walker had threatened to kill her in a 2012 police report uncovered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and another told authorities in 2002 that Walker stalked her, according to a report by CNN.
Mallory Blount, a campaign spokesperson, said Walker “emphatically denied” the 2012 allegation in a statement to USA TODAY.
The Senate hopeful has long discussed his own mental health. His campaign website notes that he has dissociative identity disorder that developed “as a result of childhood trauma,” and that he wrote a memoir about living with the condition. Part of his policy proposals address mental health.
How old is Herschel Walker?
Walker was born on March 3, 1962. He is 60 years old.
Who has endorsed Herschel Walker?
Throngs of high profile Republican lawmakers are backing Walker, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley. Former Trump United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and Trump national security adviser Mike Pompeo have also endorsed Walker.
What is Herschel Walker’s platform?
Walker is running in large part on economic issues, latching onto record inflation and gas prices to argue that Biden’s economic policies need undoing.
His plan for the economy includes rolling back federal regulations to promote business, building the Keystone Pipeline and increasing fossil fuel energy production, and cutting taxes across the board, according to his campaign website. He also wants to “lower healthcare costs by increasing competitive market options.”
Under his plan for “national security,” Walker supports finishing Trump’s southern border wall and calls for the country to “heavily invest” in the military.
Walker, who joins the chorus of Republicans calling for the removal of so-called “critical race theory” and “cancel culture curricula” from public schools, is a proponent of increasing “school choice,” according to his campaign website.
Open about his own mental health struggles, Walker proposes more funding for counselors for students and treatment for veterans.
Like other Republicans, the anti-abortion candidate has signaled his strong Christian faith and “conservative family values.”
Who is Herschel Walker’s son?
Walker’s college-aged son, Christian, is a popular conservative political commentator on social media platforms like Twitter and Twitter, where he often posts videos blasting liberal political views popular among Gen Z.
Herschel Walker vs. Raphael Warnock in the polls
The anticipated match up between Walker and Warnock is expected to be tight. Walker leads Warnock by half a point in the latest RealClearPolitics average poll.
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