Top figures within the GOP are rallying behind Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker in the wake of a report alleging he encouraged and paid for a woman to have an abortion in 2009.
The accusations, broken by the Daily Beast on Monday evening, are the latest in a string of controversies for Walker, ranging from multiple undisclosed children to allegations he inflated the success of his business record. Walker, who has run on a “no exceptions” anti-abortion platform, has vehemently denied the accusations.
HERSCHEL WALKER’S PRO-LIFE STATEMENTS UNDER SCRUTINY FOLLOWING ABORTION ALLEGATIONS
Responding to a $700 check the outlet said he sent the woman for the procedure, as well as a “get well” card apparently signed by Walker, the Republican Senate candidate said he sends “money to a lot of people.” He has threatened to sue the publication over its reporting.
Former President Donald Trump, who encouraged the former NFL star to seek public office, released a statement accusing the media of “trying to destroy a man who has true greatness, just as he had athletic greatness in his past” and applauded him for denying the accusation.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott likened the accusations to “smears they attempted against Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas,” two Supreme Court justices who faced allegations of misconduct prior to being confirmed to the high court.
“When the Democrats are losing, as they are right now, they lie and cheat and smear their opponents. That’s what’s happening right now. They know they are on the verge of losing the Senate, and they know that Herschel Walker is winning, so they have cranked up the smear machine,” Scott said in a statement.
“This is just like the smears they attempted against Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, and it will not work. Herschel has denied these allegations and the NRSC and Republicans stand with him, and Georgians will stand with him too,” he added.
The Senate Leadership Fund, an influential super PAC with close ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), echoed the NRSC’s continued support for the candidate.
“We are full speed ahead in Georgia,” SLF CEO Steven Law said in a statement. “This election is about the future of the country — Herschel Walker will make things better, [Sen.] Raphael Warnock is making it worse. Anything else is a distraction.”
Evangelical GOP consultant Ralph Reed also came to the former NFL star’s defense, telling the New York Times that he “100%” stands with the candidate and questioning the timing of the report, which dropped in the final weeks leading up to the election.
One GOP Georgia operative said that while the latest development may sway a few voters, it won’t move the needle as much as Democrats would like.
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“It may cause a few more people to skip the race, but generally, I don’t think it does much, if at all,” they told the Washington Examiner.
But others have voiced concerns over the report, including Walker’s son, Christian, who took to social media to bash his father in a video, in which he alleged that the “atrocities against him and his mom were downplayed,” accusing Walker of not playing a role in raising any of his children and alleging that he is lying about not paying for the abortion.
Walker is currently neck and neck with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in the battle for the coveted swing seat in Georgia.
