Gary Black has assumed the daunting task of running against an icon in his bid for the Republican nomination for Senate in Georgia.
And no, Black’s challenge is not just that he is running against the Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump. Black’s challenge lies in who that candidate is: Herschel Walker, a former professional football player and star running back at the University of Georgia. Walker is such a folk hero in Georgia, polling in the Senate GOP primary suggests grassroots conservatives couldn’t care less that he has lived in Texas for the better part of the last 20 years.
But Black, 63, is not discouraged.
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The elected Georgia agriculture commissioner with deep ties across the party is expressing confidence that he can pull off a spring surprise in the May primary and shock Republican insiders, who almost uniformly expect Walker, 59, to waltz to the Senate nomination. “I’m not running for celeb. I’m running for senate, and Georgians are smart enough to figure out the difference,” Black told the Washington Examiner in a recent interview.
Georgia has evolved into a legitimate battleground.
In 2020, President Joe Biden won the state’s Electoral College votes, becoming the first Democratic nominee to do so since 1992, and the Democrats captured both the state’s Senate seats. Despite Walker’s bipartisan appeal and potential for gains with Georgia’s influential black voting bloc, Black claims that he is best positioned to make sure that 2022 is about Biden and incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock rather than Walker’s controversial past (which he has written about and discussed extensively.)
“If you want to win the race, I’m the one who can win this race,” Black said. “If it’s Herschel Walker, the race will be about his noise‚ and I think Georgians deserve better.”
“I’m the one that will make this race about Raphael Warnock and Joe Biden’s record,” he added. “It’s important for Republicans to ask, is Herschel Walker really a conservative?”
Black might not have Trump in his corner, but the two are not enemies. Black was among the former president’s early backers when he sought the White House in 2016. “I think the president will be very proud of me when we win,” he said.
Black, the state agriculture commissioner since 2011, has assembled an enviable list of local and state-based endorsements, including county commissioners, sheriffs, and state legislators, as befitting his deep roots and long political history in Republican politics in Georgia.
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Those positive developments in the face of running against Walker — a favorite son of sorts in the Peach State, not to mention Trump’s favorite — are giving Black hope that he just might have a fighting chance in a contest that is going to be decided by the most committed Republican voters.
Meanwhile, there is a new GOP primary contest that is making headlines, featuring incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp and former Sen. David Perdue. A spokesman for Black said Thursday that he has not endorsed anyone in this race but declined to elaborate on whether that might change.
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