Trump-backed Herschel Walker seeks Georgia Senate seat – KIRO 7 News Seattle

ATLANTA – (AP) – Herschel Walker filed filings to run for the U.S. Senate in Georgia on Tuesday after months of speculation, and joins other Republicans trying to oust Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock in 2022.

Walker, 59, is a well-known participant in the race after winning the 1982 Heisman Trophy as a running back from the University of Georgia. Perhaps more importantly in today’s Republican Party, it has the support of former President Donald Trump.

Walker has never run for office and is likely to review his tumultuous personal history as well as his political positions. But if it emerges from the Republican primary, two blacks would be vying for a seat in the heart of the deep south in the Senate contest.

Walker stayed a mom on Tuesday and continued a pattern of few comments as he began launching a Senate bid. He registered to vote last week at an Atlanta residence owned by his wife, Julie Blanchard. Walker signed Federal Election Commission papers Tuesday declaring his candidacy and allowing him to raise funds for a Senate run.

Republicans already running for the Senate seat include State Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, former bank director and Navy veteran Latham Saddler, and contractor Kelvin King. Several other potential GOP candidates may not run for the race with Walker’s entry, including former Senator Kelly Loeffler, who lost to Warnock in a January special, and US MP Buddy Carter, a four-year-old Congressman from near Savannah .

Walker’s relationship with Trump dates back to the 1980s when Walker played for a team owned by Trump in the short-lived United States Football League. Walker, who played 12 seasons in the NFL, spoke out in support of Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention and later attended Trump’s private birthday party.

Trump publicly encouraged Walker to be in the primary and said on a radio show in June that “he’s a great guy, a patriot and a very loyal person, a very strong person. You love him in Georgia, I tell you. “

With Trump being the “defining figure” in today’s GOP, University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock said his support could be anything Walker needs.

“When he tells you to vote for Herschel Walker, that’s the strongest endorsement he can get,” said Bullock.

Walker’s supporters hope he can reach moderate Republicans and replace some traditionally Democratic African-Americans. But the support of the former president could be a drag in a parliamentary election in tightly divided Georgia that saw a crucial segment of wealthier GOP voters defected to Democrat Joe Biden.

“At the end of this long, divisive and costly intra-party struggle, it will be clear that none of these candidates are focusing on the issues that matter most to Georgians,” said Dan Gottlieb, spokesman for the Georgia Democratic Party, in a statement.

Walker could share a Republican ticket with Governor Brian Kemp, a frequent target of Trump attacks, while Kemp seeks re-election. Trump has vowed revenge on Kemp, saying he hasn’t done enough to undo Trump’s electoral defeat. It’s unclear whether this hostility would hurt Republicans’ chances, as the Democrats may pitch a joint ticket from Warnock and Stacey Abrams. Walker supported Kemp, an ardent Georgia soccer fan, in Kemp’s 2018 win over Abrams.

Warnock has already raised $ 10.5 million for the 2022 race, but downplayed Walker’s entry. He’s now traveling across the state promoting a job agenda.

“And I heard there was a race next year,” Warnock told the Atlanta Press Club last week when asked about Walker.

Black optimized Walker for his long absence from Georgia and did so again on Tuesday in a video “greeting” Walker to the race and challenging him to come to a Republican fry south of Macon on Saturday.

“I guess I’ve always wanted an autograph,” Black said, holding up a weathered soccer ball. “But some things are much more important now: the future of our country, the future of our families.”

Sadler said in a statement that as “the next generation conservative leader who can beat Raphael Warnock” he was a better choice.

“This campaign is not about yesterday’s glory; It’s about the future of our nation, “said Sadler.

Walker lived outside of Dallas and is running for office for the first time. Untested as a candidate, it is unclear whether he will be a skilled campaigner or fundraiser while also developing positions on political issues that he never had to address in detail. Walker has supported Trump’s baseless claims that he was cheated out of re-election.

Walker also has a tumultuous personal story that could flow into a campaign.

An Associated Press review of public records uncovered detailed allegations that Walker repeatedly threatened the life of his ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, by telling her relatives that he would kill Grossman and her new boyfriend. Walker denied the allegations, but a judge issued a protection order in 2005, prohibiting Walker from possessing weapons for a period.

In 2008, Walker wrote a book detailing his struggles with mental illness. He wrote that he was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder. He said he constructed alternate personalities to protect himself against the bullying he endured as a stuttering, overweight child. Walker grew up in Wrightsville, 80 kilometers east of Macon.

Walker also wrote that he was playing Russian roulette with a gun at his kitchen table in 1991. Overall, Walker saw his story as a turning point and said he had found a way to “integrate” through therapy and his Christian faith.

The book created problems for one of Walker’s key business relationships. In a 2019 court statement, a manager at grocer Sysco said the company almost cut ties with Walker’s poultry company Renaissance Man Food Services when the book wreaked havoc. Ultimately, Sysco stayed with Walker’s company until the controversy subsided.

Walker has been making oversized claims about his business success lately. He repeatedly claimed his company employed hundreds of people and had annual sales of $ 70 million or more.

But Walker’s company only reported eight employees when it applied for a federal paycheck protection program loan last year. In a recent lawsuit, Walker said his company had average annual profits of about $ 1.5 million from 2008 to 2017.

State election officials opened an investigation into his wife’s residence after the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Blanchard voted in Georgia despite living in Texas. Walker is among Trump supporters who continue to reiterate the president’s false claim that the 2020 election was stolen by fraud. Election officials across the country did not find widespread fraud.

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Follow Jeff Amy on Twitter at http://twitter.com/jeffamy.

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