#GASEN Primary Debate Day: What to Expect on the Walker-less Stage

Herschel Walker is refusing to debate his fellow GOP candidates tonight at 6 pm — claiming he “didn’t refuse to debate them” but rather “can’t debate them” because he’ll be attending a $15,000-per-person award ceremony in Washington, DC. But as the AJC notes, those “series of events will end Saturday morning – apparently giving Walker enough time to make it back for the evening debate” — and Walker’s Republican rivals are letting him hear about it.

In the meantime, sparks are sure to fly on the debate stage this evening as Walker’s GOP rivals take aim at Walker’s absentee campaign. 

Here’s a preview of what to expect on the stage tonight:

• Gary Black will slam Walker over his failure to answer simple questions on the campaign trail, calling him a “wind-up toy” with no direction as a candidate, warning Georgians they need a “need a senator who puts a team together — not a staff who puts a senator together,” and reminding voters that Walker “refuses to debate, refuses to answer questions about his past, and refuses to open his events to the public.” Just yesterday, he asked Georgia Republicans to consider what Walker is “so afraid of” that he won’t speak with voters.

• Latham Saddler will continue roasting Walker’s “choreographed campaign, using Georgia voters for photo opps.” while calling Walker’s “no-show” Senate candidacy an “unmitigated disaster” for Republicans, accusing Walker of “falling apart” under simple questioning, and asking how he could hold his own in a general election when he “can’t even debate Republicans.” Saddler even found “some flights that would get [Walker] back in time for the debate” and sent a screenshot for the Trump-tapped candidate.

• Kelvin King will call it a “travesty” that Walker would not debate fellow Republicans, and warn that Walker will be “demolished” and “embarrassed” for his lack of policy and presence in Georgia. “It’s remarkable to think that someone could ask for the vote and the confidence of the people of Georgia, but doesn’t show or prove to them, to the people of Georgia that they’re willing to work hard.”

In the meantime, Georgia Republicans, conservative commentators, and GOP activists alike are letting their frustrations with Walker and his GOP debate-dodging campaign be known.

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