Herschel Walker

Have Donald Trump’s presidential aspirations gone south? The failure of Herschel Walker to become the next senator from Georgia has further dented Trump’s image as the omniscient grandmaster of the GOP. One after another, his candidates in the midterm elections, ranging from Kari Lake to Doug Mastriano, from Dr. Oz to Blake Masters, have proved to be losers. The indictment of the Trump Organization on no less than 17 counts on Tuesday does not help Trump’s image either. Nor does Special Counsel Jack Smith who is relentlessly amassing evidence about Trump’s serial crimes as the leader of the January 6 failed coup and his illegal retention of top secret documents.

Atlanta, Georgia Here we go again. For the second time in as many years, Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock is headed to a runoff. Neither he nor his Republican opponent Herschel Walker has secured 50 percent of the vote in Georgia, the state office confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and the Heisman Trophy-winning running back will face off again for the US Senate seat on Tuesday December 6. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Jolt newsletter made clear on Wednesday morning, “split-ticket voters” were the key to pushing the Senate race to a runoff.

Live analysis as the results come in from your favorite Spectator editors, staffers, columnists and contributors (and some you don’t like, for good measure).

College Park, Georgia Former president Barack Obama came down to Georgia stump for Senator Raphael Warnock and gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. But more significantly, the 44th president of the United States dedicated a good chunk of his stage time on Friday to mocking Warnock’s opponent Herschel Walker. In a move reminiscent of his 2011 White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech — which supposedly provoked Donald Trump to run for the presidency in 2016 — Obama performed a stand-up bit to demonstrate that Walker’s proficiency as a Heisman Trophy-winning football star did not equip him to serve in the US Senate. “Let’s do a thought experiment,” Obama said. “Let’s say you were at the airport, and you see Mr. Walker, and you say, ‘hey!

Last week, the Democrats cut an ad accusing Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz of murdering puppies. I know it can be hard to tell these days but just to make clear: that isn't satire. They actually accused him of murdering puppies. If you're just joining us here at the borderland between reality and surreality, the website Jezebel reported that Oz had presided over a study at Columbia University where animal abuse took place. Oz has denied any knowledge of the abuse; the citation filed about the incident doesn't mention him. Yet that didn't stop the Democrats from broaching the issue with their usual delicacy: "PUPPY KILLER MEHMET OZ SHOULD BE UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ANIMAL ABUSE!" screamed a PAC spokesman into a paper bag.

Atlanta, Georgia Georgia’s leading political candidates crossed swords earlier this week at the Georgia Public Broadcasting studios for the Atlanta Press Club’s Loudermilk-Young debate series. Well, most of them did. A few contenders — from both parties — decided to swerve the chance to engage with their opponents, the public and the press. At least two of them — Lucy McBath and David Scott — are incumbent Democrats whose districts cover the Atlanta suburbs. Yes, the traffic is bad and their seats are basically locks, but those are hardly reasons to skip an opportunity to prove that the Dems are the "party of accountability" that "respects the press" rather than scorns it.

Herschel Walker's performance in Friday night's Georgia Senate debate provided a good example of the benefits of lowered expectations and the difficult task facing Democrats in November. Walker's country drawl came across as charming and allowed him to navigate the thornier questions that have faced his campaign in recent weeks. Incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, meanwhile, struggled to defend his avowedly partisan record during his brief time in office. Campaigns will spin even in the face of clear losses, but the Walker campaign was ecstatic over their candidate's performance, which they view as a definitive boost in the closing weeks of the election cycle.

Friday night brought Georgia voters the sole debate in the contest between Herschel Walker and Senator Raphael Warnock, with the pair meeting on stage at the J.W. Marriott in Savannah. Thanks to Axios, you could play debate bingo if you wanted to, thereby officially informing your friends you have the saddest social schedule imaginable. Debate dodging has been a major feature of the 2022 cycle. In Arizona, Democrat Katie Hobbs has said she's too busy to debate her gubernatorial opponent Kari Lake — who as it happens is far more telegenic than she is. In Pennsylvania, Democrat John Fetterman has agreed to just one Senate debate with Republican Mehmet Oz, with a long series of stipulations about closed captioning and multiple practice opportunities for the setup.

With the 2022 midterms now only a month away, there isn't a candidate anywhere who can avoid fielding questions about abortion. The issue is fair game thanks to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in its recent decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. And all the more so because, at least in theory, Congress could act to either federally legalize abortion or federally ban it. So it is that abortion has become a major topic of conversation in the US Senate campaign in Georgia, where NFL legend Herschel Walker and incumbent Senator Rafael Warnock are locked in one of the most pivotal races this year.

By all accounts, Herschel Walker's defects as a Senate candidate are widely known. The star running back had been very public about his history of mental illness, which led to violent threats in his former marriage. Far beyond the normal risks associated with running a celebrity outsider, Walker represented a particularly unlikely choice. Of course, that all changed thanks to Walker's association with Donald Trump. Ever since Walker joined Trump's New Jersey Generals franchise in the ill-fated USFL, the two have been connected. It was this friendship and Trump's endorsement that allowed Walker to clear the field in what might have been a competitive primary to unseat Senator Raphael Warnock.