Herschel Walker to run for Senate in Georgia

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Walker is expected to be the first favorite in the primary if he gets the backing of Trump, the party’s most influential Republican.

“This could be the most important dossier for the most important race in the country,” said Randy Evans, a Georgian lawyer and former US ambassador to Luxembourg in the Trump administration. “This is the signal the Republicans in Georgia have been waiting for and the one the Democratic Senate Committee feared the most.”

“Herschel Walker understands the difficult situation our country finds itself in and the importance for those who love this country to move forward and do what it takes to save it,” Evans added.

But some Georgia GOP strategists and lawmakers in Washington, DC, are deeply concerned about Walker’s potential campaign, fearing that Walker could cost the GOP a winnable seat currently held by Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock. Three Republican candidates – Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, construction company owner Kelvin King and former Trump national security official Latham Saddler – have already announced their campaigns.

Senatorial Minority Leader Mitch McConnell even suggested to his allies that the former Georgia Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler are expected to reconsider their candidacy, after their small losses in January brought the Senate under Democratic control. McConnell met Loeffler and Perdue this summer.

Some Republicans were alarmed by a recent Associated Press report detailing Walker’s past, including threatening violence against his ex-wife. Walker has been open about his diagnosis of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Until recently, Walker also lived in Texas and did not have a political operation in Georgia.

Eric Tanenblatt, a Georgia GOP veteran, said he was anticipating a “lively primary” because there are “several strong and capable candidates already.” Walker, he said, will have to convince voters that he is a “viable candidate” even though he is well known.

“It looks like the speculation is over and Herschel Walker appears to be in the running,” Tanenblatt said. “His candidacy is further proof that Republicans believe they have a real opportunity to take back the Senate seat.”

The race against Warnock could decide the Senate. Democrats in the upper house have the weakest majorities – 50-50 – held only by the decisive vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. Warnock beat Loeffler in 2020 by two points.

“Walker’s entry into the chaotic GOP Senate primary in Georgia is the nightmare scenario Republicans have spent the entire cycle trying to avoid,” said Georgia Democratic Party spokesman Dan Gottlieb. “At the end of this long, discordant and costly struggle within the party, it will be clear that none of these candidates are focusing on the issues that matter most to Georgians.

But Walker has a long relationship with the former president dating back to 1984, when Trump – then owner of the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League – granted former running back Heisman a contract extension.

They stayed in touch; Donald Trump Jr. recounts in his book “Triggered” that he went to Disney World when he was 6 with Walker’s family, and that Walker was visiting the Trumps at their home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Walker later appeared on NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” with Trump and encouraged his 2016 and 2020 presidential nominations.

In December, Walker tweeted a video supporting Trump’s efforts to reverse his loss and reverse the will of the electorate. Trump replied, “Herschel is telling the truth!”

This story was updated with additional details on Tuesday.

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