Today, Herschel Walker will finally hold his first open-to-the-public campaign event after nearly a month in the race — alongside Donald Trump at his Perry, GA rally. Here’s a recap of what to know about Walker’s rocky Senate campaign so far:
- Herschel Walker’s “whole lot of nothing” campaign. The Trump-tapped candidate has established “a pattern of staying mum on most key issues,” and his early campaign strategy has been to “stay out of sight and severely limit his exposure to voters and the media” in order to limit mistakes. The only campaign event Walker held in his first three weeks was a private fundraiser with high-dollar conservative donors, and he’s refused to answer basic questions about his vaccination status, his support (or lack thereof) for Brian Kemp, his opinion on Republican leadership, or just about any issue of consequence to Georgians.
- Trump: Walker is running “at my behest.” The former president took credit for Walker’s candidacy on Thursday, noting “[Walker] did this at my behest,” and last week, Walker finally admitted that he had no hesitation to run for Senate because “I trust Donald, I trust the President, I trust him so much,” — reaffirming that his campaign has less to do with helping Georgians and more to do with pleasing Donald Trump.
- Republicans are “wary” and “frustrated” as internal divisions grow. Georgia Republicans have long warned of a Walker run, saying he has “serious baggage” and “no history of…serious policy positions.” And as Donald Trump continues to take aim at Brian Kemp, Walker is wobbling on his support for the embattled governor. After backing Kemp in 2018, Walker is now refusing to support him, with his campaign noting that he “is not getting involved” in the race. Meanwhile, GOP leaders have begun throwing their weight behind opposing Senate candidates in what is shaping up to be a messy primary fight.
- Chaotic Primary Infighting: Black going after Walker. Gary Black’s campaign — which has so far compiled endorsements from 55 legislative Republicans, dozens of sheriffs, and a handful of high-profile Georgia GOP figures — has been aggressively calling out Walker’s failure to show up and meet with Georgia voters, with his campaign spokesman saying that “there is a problem with Herschel that his team does not want us to know about” and comparing Walker winning the primary to “an extinction-level event.”
“Herschel Walker has spent his first few weeks in this Senate race dodging voters, avoiding questions, and frustrating Republicans,” said Dan Gottlieb, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Georgia. “It’s clear that Trump is driving a wedge between Georgia Republicans and creating the nightmare scenario that Republican leaders in Georgia and Washington wanted to avoid. Look no further than the GOP Senate primary.”