Walker “On Defense Again” Over Residency

CNN: “Exactly one week before the Georgia Senate runoff election, Republican Herschel Walker is on defense again – this time about whether he legally resides in the state of Georgia.”

The New York Times: “At a news conference held on Tuesday by Georgia Democrats, Mr. Walker’s critics said that he had repeatedly misrepresented critical details about his residency, personal life and credentials.”

13WMAZ Macon: “People in two states are questioning where Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker really lives.” 

Georgians are reading and watching a wave of news coverage highlighting how Herschel Walker “is on defense again – this time about whether he legally resides in the state of Georgia,” as new details about Walker’s Texas tax break are raising further questions about his voting status and highlighting how Walker has “repeatedly misrepresented critical details about his residency, personal life and credentials.”

See for yourself what Georgians are hearing:

Atlanta New First: Report: Walker Filed Taxes In Texas

• Anchor: “A group gathered at the state capitol today holding ‘No Way Walker’ signs. Democrats say Walker does not actually live in Georgia, citing a recent report Walker is getting a tax break intended for primary residents there.”
  
  
• State Rep. Betsy Holland: “This latest scandal shows that Walker broke the rule, potentially violated Georgia election code by voting in our state and running for office here.”
  
  
• Anchor: “The group is now calling on the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the state attorney general’s office to investigate.”

CNN – Erin Burnett OutFront: Walker in Jan Speech: “I Live in Texas”  

• Erin Burnett: “Exactly one week before the Georgia Senate runoff election, Republican Herschel Walker is on defense again – this time about whether he legally resides in the state of Georgia.”
  
  
• “CNN’s K-File reporting tonight that Walker himself earlier this year said quote, ‘I live in Texas.’”
  
  
• “Walker has been under fire over this already, fending off questions about his residency after CNN’s K-File reported that Walker was getting a Texas tax break intended for primary residents.”
  
  
• “This is not the first controversy that Herschel Walker has been dealing with since launching his campaign for Senate. This is a new problem.”
  
  
• Chris Cilliza: “That clip you played where Herschel Walker says ‘I lived in Georgia my whole life’ is just not true. He lived in Texas. He moved to Georgia to run for the Senate.”
  
  
• “We are seven days away from the runoff… Herschel Walker would rather not be talking about his residency issues tonight and tomorrow on the campaign trail.”

CW69 Atlanta: Georgia Authorities Urged to See if Walker Violated State Law

• Anchor: “Georgia Democrats condemned Walker for receiving a homestead tax credit for a house he owns in Texas. They’ve called for an investigation by state officials into Walker’s residency after a new report last week that Walker was getting a tax break on his Dallas home intended for a primary residence. Walker took the tax break on the home in both 2021 and 2022.”
  
  
• “Neither Walker nor his campaign have commented on the homestead exemption or questions about his residency.”

CNN – Inside Politics: Questions Swirl Around Walker’s Residency As Runoff Nears

• John King: “Herschel Walker you might say is in a debate with himself in the final days of this final week of the Georgia Senate runoff campaign.”
  
• “Walker in 2001 and 2002 received a tax break in Texas intended for a primary residence… He repeatedly held campaign interviews from his Texas home. But on the campaign trail yesterday, this: ‘I represent the great people of Georgia. I’ve lived here my whole life…’” And this is the candidate in January of this year: 

• Herschel Walker: “I was sitting in my home in Texas, I was sitting in my home in Texas, and I was seeing what was going on in this country… I live in Texas, I went down to the border off and on sometimes.”

• John King: Can you square that circle?

• Nia-Malika Henderson: No, you can’t.[…] This is a tough campaign to watch.

13WMAZ Macon: Texas Questions Walker’s Tax Status 

• Anchor: “People in two states are questioning where Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker really lives.”
  
  
• “Walker is claiming a homestead tax exemption on his Texas home. Under Texas law, you can only claim that exemption on your primary residence. Officials in Tarrant County Texas plan to ask if that home still qualifies.” 

MSNBC – The Reid Out with Joy Reid: Herschel Walker’s GA Residency Questioned

• Joy Reid: “It is a known fact that Walker was living in Texas when Donald Trump tapped him to run for the Senate from Georgia, and only registered to vote their last year.”
  
  
• “Tax records in Texas show Walker received a tax break on his $3 million home there, claiming it as his primary residence.”

95.5 WSB Radio: Herschel Walker’s Texas Tax Break

• Anchor: “State Democrats called for the probe of Republican candidate Herschel Walker living in Texas while trying to represent Georgians in Congress.
  
  
• State Senator-Elect Josh McLaurin: “Georgia Republicans and Herschel Walker take Georgians for fools. They assume that Georgians are not going to do the work and google and learn for themselves all of the things that Herschel Walker has lied about.”
  
  
• Anchor: “State Representative Betsy Holland says he tried to game the system, and got caught.”
  
  
• State Representative Betsy Holland: “And now he must be held accountable.”

CNN – This Morning: GOP’s Walker Bragged About Living in Texas During Campaign Speech

• Kaitlin Collins: “Herschel Walker, the Republican in this race, is getting a tax break in Texas saying it is his primary residence there. There have been questions about whether he is running afoul of Georgia’s rules when it comes to establishing residency for not just voting but for running for office.”
  
  
• Gabriel Sterling: “It’s up for a court to decide whether or not he’s qualified.”
  

The New York Times: What to Know About Herschel Walker’s Residency Status in Georgia

• At a news conference held on Tuesday by Georgia Democrats, Mr. Walker’s critics said that he had repeatedly misrepresented critical details about his residency, personal life and credentials.

• “Georgians need to elect someone that lives in Georgia,” said Dewey McClain, a state representative who also played in the National Football League like Mr. Walker.  “In other words, Herschel Walker has not been honest with Georgians about where his home is. He tried to game the system and he’s gotten caught.”

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Herschel Walker’s stumbles complicate final stretch of his runoff bid. 

• Newly emerged tax records that show Walker considers his home in Texas a primary residence led to fresh attacks framing the former Dallas Cowboys star as an out-of-state carpetbagger.

Fox News: Herschel Walker told supporters, ‘I live in Texas’ while campaigning for Senate in Georgia: report. 

• Senate candidate Herschel Walker is facing renewed allegations of carpetbagging, ahead of next week’s runoff election in Georgia, for claiming a special property tax break in Texas and making statements about living in the Lone Star State.
  
  
• With the runoff election scheduled for next Tuesday, Walker’s residency and eligibility for Senate have been questioned by Democrats who say he “lied about being a Georgia resident.” A CNN report scrutinizing Walker’s statements found that in January of this year, while campaigning for Senate in Georgia, he described Texas as his “home.”
  
  
• Democrats have sought to make questions about Walker’s residency an issue in the final weeks of the runoff election. 
  
  
• “The Georgia Bureau of Investigations and the Georgia Attorney General’s office must immediately investigate whether Herschel Walker lied about being a Georgia resident,” Georgia Democratic Party Chairwoman Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., said in a statement Monday. 

• “Georgians deserve answers, and Walker must be held accountable for his pattern of lies and disturbing conduct. This is yet another reminder that Walker lacks both the competence and character to be our U.S. Senator,” she added.

• The Walker campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Slate: Herschel Walker Told a Georgia Campaign Audience That He Lives in Texas, Because Of Course

• It’s been a long journey for Herschel Walker’s Georgia Senate campaign, which will conclude with a runoff election against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock on Dec. 6. A long journey metaphorically, for sure, and apparently also geographically.
  

Salon: Herschel Walker repeatedly said “I live in Texas” while running for Senate in Georgia

• Georgia Democrats have called for an immediate investigation into Walker’s residency, and whether he lied about it to get onto the ballot.
  

The Guardian: ‘I live in Texas’: Herschel Walker speech adds to Georgia Senate run problems

• Nikema Williams, chair of the state Democratic party, told the AJC Walker may have “lied about being a Georgia resident”.
  
  
• “Georgians deserve answers,” the U.S congresswoman said, “and Walker must be held accountable for his pattern of lies and disturbing conduct.”

• The Walker campaign did not comment.

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