*In spite of a report that the debate was not going to happen, on Friday night in Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker did meet for their first and only debate in the over-the-top and thoroughly competitive Georgia Senate race. To no one’s surprise, they clashed over abortion and inflation. However, Walker did agree that the 2020 election was legitimately won by President Joe Biden.
Walker, the former University of Georgia football star and local hero’s shining reputation has taken a hit amid a torrent of tabloid-style stories and attack ads detailing past domestic abuse allegations against him from an ex-wife and a recent claim that he paid for a woman’s abortion, which he denies.
“Well, as I said, that’s a lie,” Walker said when asked about the accusations. “On abortion, I’m a Christian. I believe in life. … I’ll be a senator that protects life.”
Warnock said he supports legal abortion, because “I trust women more than I trust politicians.”
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In the debate, Walker rejected the fabricated claims by his longtime friend — former President Donald Trump, whose early endorsement boosted him in the GOP contest — that the 2020 election was stolen.
“President Biden won and Senator Warnock won. That’s the reason I decided to run,” Walker said when asked if Biden defeated Trump in the election.
Heading into the debate, Walker called himself a “dumb country boy,” setting low expectations against Warnock, the eloquent pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. used to minister.
Here’s more via NBC:
Walker’s debate goal was simple: Go on offense, tie Warnock to unpopular President Joe Biden, rising gas prices and high inflation.
Warnock hammered Walker for opposing the Inflation Reduction Act to defend himself against attacks that his votes fueled inflation.
GOP operatives, wary of Walker’s turbulent past, have been concerned for months about his prospects in a race that gave Democrats control of the 50-50 Senate in 2020 and may well be decisive again this fall.
Although the abortion allegations haven’t completely upended the race, Walker has fallen slightly behind in the averages of public-opinion surveys on the race in the two weeks since the story broke. He now trails Walker by more than 3 points, but most surveys show Warnock’s lead within the margin of error.
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