Herschel Walker says he’s ‘not that smart’ before Senate debate with Warnock in Georgia
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker has tried to set the expectations ahead of his Oct. 14 debate against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.
When asked about how he is preparing for the hotly-anticipated debate at a Georgia news conference on Sept. 16, the former NFL running back said he is, “talking to the voters, talking to [the media]. You told me I’ve got to prepare, so I’m preparing.”
“I’m a country boy. I’m not that smart,” Walker added. “He’s a preacher. [Warnock] is smart and wears these nice suits. So, he is going to show up and embarrass me at the debate Oct. 14th, and I’m just waiting to show up and I will do my best.”
A spokesperson for the Walker campaign downplayed the comments and said, “It is a sad day when so many people in politics and the media don’t understand sarcasm,” according to The Hill.
After several weeks of wrangling over the terms of the debate, including over the location and organizers, both campaigns agreed to the Oct. 14 match-up in Savannah on Sept. 13, according to CNN and Georgia Public Broadcasting.
“Reverend Warnock is eager to speak to Georgians about his work on their behalf and remains hopeful Herschel Walker will do right by Georgians, get on a debate stage at least one other time in either Macon or Atlanta, and explain his positions to them,” Warnock’s campaign manager Quentin Fulks said in a release sent to McClatchy News.
The Senate race in Georgia is one of the more closely watched elections of the year, with a Quinnipiac poll conducted in the second week of September showing Warnock leading Walker 52% to 46%. The polling analysis site FiveThirtyEight projects that Warnock is slightly favored to win.
Among the issues that Walker advocates for, according to his campaign site, are lower taxes, decreased government regulation and conservative family values. On Sept. 16 he knocked President Joe Biden’s plan to hire thousands of new IRS agents, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Senator Warnock’s campaign cites affordable health care, criminal justice reform and access to quality education as some of his legislative priorities.
On the subject of abortion rights, among the top issues for voters this election season, Warnock “believes the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a departure from our American ideals, and a failure to recognize and protect a core protection for women in this country to make their own health care decisions,” according to his campaign site. Walker supports a total ban on abortions, according to the New York Times.
The Walker campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
While Walker is trailing slightly behind incumbent Warnock, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is the clear favorite in his rematch against Stacey Abrams, indicating that some Georgia voters may plan to split their vote between Democrat and Republican candidates. A recent Journal-Constitution poll found that 4% of Kemp voters plan to vote for Warnock. Though split-ticket voting has become less common in recent years, according to Pew Research Center, it does still happen.
This story was originally published September 19, 2022 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Herschel Walker says he’s ‘not that smart’ before Senate debate with Warnock in Georgia."