Former NFL running back Herschel Walker is running for Senate in Georgia, but it’s probably not a great idea.
Walker has name recognition. He was born and raised in Georgia and was an elite college football player for the Georgia Bulldogs; he won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. He also has experience dealing with the media from his tenure as a pro athlete and likely has wealthy connections. He brings the upsides to the race that one would expect from a pro athlete, showing why more ex-pro athletes should run for office. However, Walker also brings baggage to the race — a lot of it.
Walker’s baggage is why the Georgia Republican Party would be better off getting behind a different candidate to run against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock next year.
For starters, Walker lived in Texas before announcing his run for U.S. Senate in Georgia. That allows the other side to paint him as a carpetbagger, which may cost him support. Some have been successful in carpetbagging their way to the U.S. Senate, such as Hillary Clinton of New York and Mitt Romney of Utah.
However, former Sen. Scott Brown, a Massachusetts Republican, was unsuccessful in the task. After winning an upset special election in Massachusetts in 2010 and losing reelection in 2012, Brown foolishly decided not to run in the 2013 special election to fill the seat vacated by John Kerry. He instead ran in New Hampshire against Jeanne Shaheen and lost a winnable race in 2014. Georgia is electorally more like New Hampshire than a deep-red or blue state such as Utah or New York.
It probably doesn’t help either that Walker is the Trump candidate in the race. (He played for Trump’s New Jersey Generals in the United States Football League before he played in the NFL.) That’s good news in a primary because many Republicans love Donald Trump. However, Trump is a deeply unpopular and polarizing figure. It’s why he lost the 2020 presidential election.
Speaking of which, Trump lost Georgia and falsely claimed it was because of voter fraud. Walker backed Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election result. Given that Trump’s election lies resulted in a riot on Capitol Hill on Jan. 6 and a second impeachment, maybe he’s not someone whom candidates should want to associate with in swing states.
Many of Walker’s political views are unclear, so it’s uncertain what type of politician people are supporting at this time. However, his past is public information. That includes allegations that he threatened to kill his ex-wife.
If Walker wants to do the country a favor and represent Georgia in Washington, D.C., then he should move to northeast Georgia and primary Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. If not, then he should help a better candidate for U.S. Senate raise funds if he wants to beat the Democrats.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
