Over the weekend, the chaos and uncertainty facing Georgia Republicans was on full display as Donald Trump took the stage to lay into Governor Kemp and tout his handpicked Senate candidate Herschel Walker, whose campaign is facing scrutiny for hiding from Georgians and refusing to answer basic questions on voters’ minds. 

• Trump triggers “internal civil war,” putting GOP candidates “in a strange spot.” Per usual, Walker is avoiding questions — this time about his support (or lack thereof) for embattled Governor Brian Kemp — as the former president pressures Georgia Republicans to condemn Kemp’s candidacy. 

• “You can’t hide forever.” Georgia Republicans are “worried” and “terrified” about Walker’s “behind closed doors” campaign as he’s “often seen and seldom heard.” GOP strategists across the Peach State are sounding off on Walker for “avoiding public events and questions from the press,” and criticizing his campaign team for “placing [him] in tightly controlled events and limiting his interviews to friendly outlets like Fox News.” Georgia Republicans fear that Walker is “not ready to answer difficult questions,” “unprepared to speak about the issues,” and “too closely aligned with his friend, former President Trump.” Herschel’s “bunker strategy is the brainchild” of national Republicans, concerning local conservative operatives, activists, and voters.

• “How long can Herschel continue to operate without doing many public events or answering questions?” said Eric Tanenblatt, a veteran Georgia GOP strategist.

• “You can’t hide forever,” said another Georgia Republican strategist.

• “Everybody I talk to in the Republican universe who isn’t being paid by [Walker] is terrified,” said yet another GOP strategist in Georgia, who requested anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations.

• Macon Telegraph: “Herschel Walker is running for the US Senate while avoiding Georgia voters, dodging serious policy questions, and refusing to disclose whether or not he’s vaccinated.” The morning after Trump’s rally, Macon residents woke up to a piece by State. Rep. Miriam Paris ripping into Walker’s MIA campaign, his fealty to Trump’s lies, and his opposition to the bipartisan infrastructure deal. “This bipartisan infrastructure bill includes provisions for a brand-new interstate highway running right through Middle Georgia championed by Senator Reverend Warnock. I-14 would be a huge economic boon…but the entire GOP Senate field – including Trump’s handpicked candidate who spoke at the rally – is opposing it.”

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