What to find out about Georgia’s Senate race and abortion allegations in opposition to Herschel Walker

Football star Herschel Walker, who’s the Republican nominee attempting to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia, has vehemently denied that he paid for the abortions of two ladies. 

In early October, the Daily Beast reported that in 2009, Walker paid for a girl’s abortion. According to the news site‘s report, Walker “urged” the lady to get an abortion as a result of “the time wasn’t right for a baby,” and after she had the process, she acquired a $700 verify from him and a “get well” card, which she saved. Walker referred to as the declare a “flat-out lie” and threatened to sue The Daily Beast over it, however hasn’t adopted by on that menace. 

Walker additionally denied a subsequent Daily Beast report that he later fathered a toddler with the identical lady. 

CBS News has not confirmed the allegations or the reporting by The Daily Beast.

The Daily Beast additionally beforehand reported that Walker has 4 youngsters, three sons and one daughter. He had not publicly disclosed three of the 4 earlier than his Senate run however did so in June, after the report was printed. 

In late October, one other lady got here ahead, claiming that Walker had paid for her to have an abortion within the early Nineteen Nineties. Walker additionally denies this accusation. The lady, referred to as Jane Doe to hide her identification, claims Walker drove her to an abortion clinic within the spring of 1993 after he realized she was pregnant.

“After discussing the pregnancy with Herschel several times, he encouraged me to have an abortion and gave me the money to do so,” the lady stated in a press convention with lawyer Gloria Allred.

This lady described a six-year relationship with Walker whereas he was nonetheless married and enjoying within the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings.

She stated that she tried to get an abortion herself, however could not undergo with it. The subsequent day, the lady stated, Walker took her to a Dallas-area clinic and waited for her whereas she received the process. Allred shared proof from her consumer together with a lodge receipt, handwritten playing cards purportedly from Walker, a photograph and recording of him as proof of their relationship.

Walker advised reporters, “This is all a lie, and I will not entertain any of it.”

The Senate race had already been some of the intently watched of the 2022 cycle. The race encompasses a Black Democratic incumbent in a state that hadn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1996 — till it elected two in 2020. And the state had by no means elected a Black senator earlier than Warnock received his particular election in 2020. 

Here’s what it’s good to know concerning the race and the most recent allegations: 

What races are on the poll?

One of Georgia’s Senate seats is on the poll on Nov. 8, slightly below two years faraway from the high-stakes pair of Senate runoffs within the state in Jan.  2021 that determined management of the Senate. Herschel Walker is the Republican challenger to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. Both events are as soon as once more anticipating their respective paths to the Senate majority to undergo Georgia, the place over $243 million has been spent on ads this cycle, in keeping with ad-tracking agency AdImpact. Also on the poll in Georgia is the governor’s race, the place incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is locked in a rematch from 2018 with Democrat Stacey Abrams.

Why is the GOP so bullish on Georgia?

It all comes down to manage of the Senate. Currently, the Senate is break up 50-50 however Democrats have management due to the Vice President offering the tie- breaking vote. But with 35 seats up for reelection in Nov., Republicans are hoping they will take management again. That’s the place Georiga is available in. A win within the Peach State might be what places the Republicans over the sting and again within the majority. 

“Georgia was one they thought they could just win, even with a not particularly great candidate,”  Conservative radio host Erick Erickson advised CBS News. “And now that one looks to be the most in jeopardy.” 

President Joe Biden received Georgia in 2020 by simply 14,000 votes, or simply 0.3%, the primary Democrat to win a presidential election since Bill Clinton in 1992. There have been two Senate races held within the state in 2020 due to Sen. Johnny Isaakson‘s resignation and Sen. David Perdue’s frequently scheduled race. In the race for Perdue’s seat, he really led over Jon Ossoff, 49.7% to 47.9%, after Election Day, however falling by 0.3% in need of the 50% wanted to keep away from a runoff. Despite a last-minute rally by Trump, Ossoff received within the runoff.

As for the opposite seat, incumbent Sen. Kelly Loeffler — who had been appointed to Isakson’s seat — was pressured right into a runoff after a jungle main after Warnock captured 32.5% of the vote to 29.5% for Loeffler, though there have been 21 candidates within the race. Warnock finally prevailed within the January runoff. 

Who is Herschel Walker? 

Walker is greatest recognized for his Heisman Trophy-winning efficiency as a working again for University of Georgia. He helped lead the crew to a National Championship win in 1980 and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1999. Following three years at Georgia, Walker went on to play skilled soccer for each the now abolished USFL and the NFL. It was throughout his time within the USFL that Walker received to know Former President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of Walker’s senate race. 

Walker introduced his run for the Georgia Senate race August 2021, saying he  “can’t sit on the sidelines anymore.” This is his first candidacy and he incessantly invokes his Washington outsider standing on the marketing campaign path.

When was Walker first within the news relating to these allegations? 

Walker is on the defensive following a report in early October by The Daily Beast that stated the Senate candidate, who has vocally opposed abortion rights, allegedly paid for a girl he’d been seeing to have an abortion in 2009. CBS News has not independently confirmed this fee. The Daily Beast stated the unidentified lady supported her declare with a $575 receipt from an abortion clinic — and a signed $700 private verify from Walker to cowl bills. She advised The Daily Beast she got here ahead due to Walker’s stance on abortion, saying “I just cant with the hypocrisy anymore. We all deserve better.”

On Oct. 5, The Daily Beast reported that she additionally stated she later gave beginning to a toddler of his. He additionally denied that report.

The lady advised The New York Times that when she turned pregnant once more two years later, Walker once more requested her to finish the being pregnant. This time, she refused, she and Walker ended their relationship, and he or she gave beginning to a son, who’s now 10 years outdated. She advised the Times that he has paid baby help after being ordered to so so by a courtroom. “As a father, he’s done nothing. He does exactly what the courts say, and that’s it,” she stated, in keeping with the Times. “He has to be held responsible, just like the rest of us. And if you’re going to run for office, you need to own your life.” 

What has been his response?

Walker has denied the accusations.

On the primary, he tweeted “this is a flat-out lie,” and “this is another repugnant hatchet job from a democrat activist disguised as a reporter.” He added within the tweet that he plans to sue The Daily Beast for defamation however Walker’s lawyer, Robert Ingram, advised CBS News, “We are currently considering our options but no final decision has been made on the future handling of this matter.”

Walker and Warnock debated in Savannah in mid-October, earlier than the second allegation surfaced. But Walker was requested concerning the first accusation and once more denied it.   

After the second report that stated that the lady was the mom of considered one of his youngsters, he stated in a press release, “As I have already said, there is no truth to this or any other Daily Beast report.”

National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Rick Scott equated Walker’s reported payment to the sexual assault allegations in opposition to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in his affirmation hearings. The committee added to its advert purchase in Georgia Tuesday, after the allegation in opposition to Walker got here out.

Who is Christian Walker?

Christian Walker is Herschel Walker’s grownup son, and is a notable conservative character on social media and YouTube. The 23-year-old has beforehand proven help for his father’s Senate run, tweeting in Dec. about introducing him at Mar-a-Lago and saying one year ago that “everyone’s really excited that my dad Herschel Walker is” working.

After The Daily Beast story got here out, Christian Walker put out a number of tweets and movies calling on his father to “stop the lies” and stated “every family member of Herschel Walker asked him not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past.” Christian Walker seemed to corroborate a few of The Daily Beast’s reporting, in a single video he stated, “it’s literally his handwriting in the card.” After his son’s preliminary string of posts, Herschel Walker tweeted, “I LOVE my son no matter what.”

What concerning the polls earlier than this incident?

A CBS News Battleground Tracker ballot, from late September, earlier than the allegations surfaced, confirmed the 2 candidates neck and neck, with Walker trailing incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock by simply two factors. This places the race within the “toss up” class.

What are Republicans saying? 

Republican politicians seem like standing by Walker, sustaining a united entrance forward of the midterms, as they attempt to take again management of the Senate. 

Scott dismissed the story, saying Democrats “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.”

Trump additionally launched a press release exhibiting help for Walker,a longtime buddy. “Herschel Walker is being slandered and maligned by the Fake News Media and obviously, the Democrats,” he stated, including, “it’s very important for our Country and the Great State of Georgia that Herschel Walker wins this Election.

What is his opponent saying? 

Until mid-October, Warnock refrained from saying much about the abortion allegations against Walker, and Warnock, a pastor, himself hasn’t avoided accusations during this race, with ads frequently running accusing him of domestic abuse. The allegations stem from a 2020 incident the place Warnock allegedly ran over his spouse’s foot with a automobile, and no expenses have been filed.

But with an extremely tight race going into the ultimate days of the marketing campaign, Warnock’s marketing campaign went up with an ad attacking Walker over the primary allegation. “Herschel Walker needs to ban abortion … But for himself, Herschel Walker paid for an abortion for his then-girlfriend,” the ad says. Warnock’s deputy campaign manager, Rachel Petri, commented when the ad was released, “As we have executed all through the marketing campaign, we’re ensuring Georgians know the info about Herschel Walker’s report.”

What are Georgia voters saying?

Many GOP Georgia voters seem like sticking with Walker on this race. Adam Whitney advised CBS News that he thinks his fellow Georgia Republicans will keep on with Walker regardless of the most recent accusations in opposition to him. 

“It is very much partisanship and that people tend to side with the party sometimes over the person,” Whitney stated. “In terms of the overall population, I think people do just vote straight with party.”

Voters on either side additionally expressed rising frustration with the frequent accusations in opposition to each candidates- and the close to fixed TV adverts working within the state about them. 

“It’s unfortunate that we can’t talk about real issues that matter because we’re distracted by people without integrity like Herschel Walker,” Amy Bruckman, a registered Democrat, advised CBS News. “I think it does the Republicans a disservice. I’d like to see greater dialogue about real issues between Democrats and Republicans.”