WADLEY, Ga. — Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Georgia, drove to a lumber yard on Thursday in this tiny town 150 miles east of Atlanta for his first public event since he was accused of paying for an ex-girlfriend’s abortion. But there was no getting away from the claim that threatens to upend his political aspirations.
Asked if he had contacted any of the mothers of his children, one of whom told The Daily Beast he had paid for her abortion, a glasses-clad Mr. Walker told reporters, “No. Why do I need to?”
“I know why you’re here,” he told the clutch of reporters, television crews and photographers. “You’re here because the Democrats are desperate to hold onto this seat.”
Mr. Walker, a first-time candidate and former football star at the University of Georgia, has been adamantly denying the report, speaking only with conservative media outlets, since it emerged on Monday and prompted charges of hypocrisy. He has supported a ban on abortions with no exceptions for rape, incest or saving the life of the mother.
To the news media who met him at Battle Lumber Company, he avoided the issue, calling it a distraction from President Biden’s unpopularity and the president’s alliance with his Democratic opponent, Senator Raphael Warnock. Mr. Walker did not mention the matter to a small group of mill workers who gathered to hear his stump speech — most of whom were unaware of Mr. Walker’s appearance until shortly before he arrived.
In a statement Thursday afternoon, he echoed the “America First” language of his political benefactor, Donald J. Trump, when he vowed, “I am running to put Georgia first.”
But hours earlier, abortion was still setting the stage for the day. Mr. Walker told the conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt that he did not know the woman making the claim, although she says they had a child together. In discussing the report that he had paid for an abortion, he seemed to undercut his own anti-abortion views, telling Mr. Hewitt, “Had that happened, I would have said it, because it’s nothing to be ashamed of there.”
Understand the Herschel Walker Abortion Report
The report. Weeks before the midterm elections, The Daily Beast reported that Herschel Walker, the G.O.P. Senate candidate in Georgia and an avowed abortion opponent, paid for his then-girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009. The woman also told the outlet that she was the mother of one of his children, undercutting his defense that he did not know her identity.
“You know, people have done that, but I know nothing about it,” he continued. “And if I knew about it, I would be honest and talk about it, but I know nothing about that.”
Besides, he told Mr. Hewitt, “I’ve already been forgiven, and if I’ve been forgiven, why in the world would I not be forgiven for something like this?”
How all this plays politically may depend on how many more revelations emerge. The Republican Party, both in Washington and in Georgia, is standing by Mr. Walker, as are the state’s most ardent partisans.
But even a little erosion of support could sway a Senate race that was tight before the report surfaced. (The New York Times has not been able to independently confirm The Daily Beast’s reporting.)
How Times reporters cover politics. We rely on our journalists to be independent observers. So while Times staff members may vote, they are not allowed to endorse or campaign for candidates or political causes. This includes participating in marches or rallies in support of a movement or giving money to, or raising money for, any political candidate or election cause.
Charles Bullock, a veteran political observer and political science professor at the University of Georgia, said Republican candidates win the state when their support is well above 80 percent. Gov. Brian Kemp, who is up for re-election in November, is around 86 percent, Mr. Bullock said. Mr. Walker was at 74 percent, before the abortion issue broke.
“If you move 50,000 voters who would have voted Republican to vote Democrat, you change the outcome of this election,” Mr. Bullock said.
Republican campaign operatives were hanging their hopes on Mr. Kemp, who has held a statistically significant lead over his Democratic challenger, Stacey Abrams, for months, betting that his coattails could rescue Mr. Walker. But in Georgia, if no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates would face off in a runoff. In that case, Mr. Kemp might not be on the ballot Dec. 6 when the final votes are cast for the pivotal Senate seat.
For his part, Mr. Warnock has stood back and watched, refraining from any direct involvement as he keeps a focus on abortion rights. On Monday night, after the news broke, he told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “I’ll let the pundits decide how they think it will impact the race. But I have been consistent in my view that a patient’s room is too narrow and cramped for space for a woman and the government.”
Democrats, however, are starting to push the case that Mr. Walker’s abortion evasions are part of a broader picture of a candidate who cannot be trusted with power. They raise a history of mental health concerns as well as accusations of domestic violence, stalking, résumé inflation and exaggerations about charitable giving and entrepreneurial acumen.
To all of that, Mr. Walker has leaned heavily on his faith and evangelical language about being saved and redeemed, positioning himself as one who ultimately has been forgiven by God, the highest authority.
It is a common appeal for Republican politicians facing a crisis of character, who make the case that they are living a reformed life sanctioned by a divine power.
“If your mind and your heart is pure, Lord Jesus, no matter what decision you make, God will make it right for you,” he said at the lumber yard.
On Wednesday, Mr. Walker released a short video, titled “Grace.” As soft worship-style music played in the background, he said he had “overcome” his battles with mental health, and accused Mr. Warnock, a longtime pastor of a prominent Atlanta church, of being the one who “doesn’t even believe in redemption,” questioning the minister’s belief in a central tenet of Christianity.
But his evasions, dismissals and denials are growing more difficult. He is at once proclaiming that he has been redeemed and forgiven, and is denying having done anything that would require forgiveness. Christian Walker, his best-known child and a conservative social-media influencer, pressed an attack he launched Monday night. After the latest Daily Beast article, Christian Walker tweeted, “Wear a condom, damn.”
Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House speaker from Georgia, appeared to attribute Mr. Walker’s struggles to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., when he said on Fox News this week, “You know, he’s been through a long, tough period. He suffered a lot of concussions coming out of football.”
Mr. Bullock said the relentless focus on Mr. Walker and his endless evasions would continue to chip away at his support. Some Republicans will go to the polls in November to vote for Mr. Kemp but withhold their votes for either of the major-party Senate candidates. If Mr. Warnock and Mr. Walker end up in a December runoff, the question will be whether those voters show up at all.
“He’s paying a price,” Mr. Bullock said.
Maya King reported from Wadley, Ga., and Jonathan Weisman from Chicago. Elizabeth Dias contributed reporting from Washington.
Source: Elections - nytimes.com
