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WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) — Ads with the candidates’ ex-wives. Cries of “liar” flying successful some directions. Stories of a squalid flat gathering and abortions nether pressure. Questioning an opponent’s independence. His intellect. His mental stability. His religious faith.
The extended Senate run successful Georgia betwixt the Democratic incumbent, Raphael Warnock, and his Republican challenger, shot fable Herschel Walker, has grown progressively bitter arsenic their Dec. 6 runoff nears. With Democrats already assured a Senate majority, it’s a striking opposition from 2 years ago, erstwhile the state’s duplicate runoffs were mostly astir which enactment would power the enclosure successful Washington.
“Herschel Walker ain’t serious,” Warnock told supporters precocious successful cardinal Georgia, saying that Walker “majors successful lying” and fumbles the basics of nationalist policy. “But the predetermination is precise serious. Don’t get those 2 things confused.”
Walker casts Warnock, the elder pastor astatine Ebenezer Baptist Church, arsenic a “hypocrite” and servile to President Joe Biden. Underscoring the insult, Walker calls the incumbent “Scooby-Doo,” implicit with an content of the cartoon hound’s gibberish.
The broadsides bespeak the candidates’ furious propulsion successful the 4 weeks betwixt the Nov. 8 wide predetermination and runoff to transportation their halfway supporters to formed different ballot. For Walker, it besides means drafting much independents and moderates to his run aft helium underperformed a chap Republican connected the ticket, Gov. Brian Kemp, by 200,000 votes.
Warnock led Walker by 37,000 votes retired of astir 4 cardinal formed successful the archetypal round, but the legislator fell abbreviated of the 50% threshold needed to debar a runoff.
In galore ways, the displacement from his archetypal runoff run is precisely what Warnock wanted: a straightforward prime betwixt 2 candidates. Two years ago, then-President Donald Trump, caller disconnected his defeat, and Biden, past president-elect, made aggregate Georgia trips to illuminate the nationalist stakes of the races betwixt Warnock and Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler and betwixt Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Sen. David Perdue arsenic power of the Senate hung successful the balance.
Trump ended up alienating his ain supporters and galore moderates with his mendacious claims of a rigged 2020 statesmanlike election. Victories by Warnock and Ossoff enactment the Senate astatine a 50-50 split, with Democrats gaining power by virtuousness of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote. Warnock besides became Georgia’s archetypal Black senator.
This year, with Warnock vying for a afloat six-year word aft winning the 2021 peculiar election, Democrats person already guaranteed power of the Senate by flipping a spot successful Pennsylvania. A Warnock triumph would springiness Democrats an outright majority astatine 51-49, meaning that the parties would not person to negociate a power-sharing agreement.
Warnock’s preferred accent for astir of his reelection bid has been his deal-making successful Washington and the idiosyncratic values helium brings to the job. It took until the campaign’s last stages — lone aft 2 women accused Walker, an hostile of termination rights, of encouraging and paying for their abortions — for the legislator to ratchet up his attacks, arguing Walker is “unprepared” and “unfit” for the job.
“My hostile lies astir everything,” Warnock said successful a caller run stop, ticking disconnected a litany of Walker’s repeated falsehoods and exaggerations. “He said helium was a constabulary officer. He’s not. He said helium worked for the FBI. He did not. Said helium graduated from the University of Georgia. He did not. Said helium was valedictorian of his class. He was not. ... He said helium had different concern with 800 employees. It has eight.”
Walker, alternately, has relished the jousting since helium won the GOP information successful the spring.
“Herschel is simply a competitor. He’s precise comfy with the mano a mano,” said Scott Paradise, Walker’s run manager, noting the candidate’s diversion prowess arsenic a shot moving back, kickboxer and Olympic bobsledder.
Indeed, Walker takes his attacks close to Warnock’s strengths arsenic the pastor of the celebrated religion wherever Martin Luther King Jr. erstwhile preached. Walker has criticized Warnock implicit an Atlanta flat building, owned by a instauration of Warnock’s church, wherever residents person complained to The Washington Free Beacon, a blimpish media outlet, of eviction notices and mediocre conditions.
“What he’s doing successful this flat gathering astatine Columbia Towers is not right,” Walker said precocious astatine a suburban Atlanta run stop. “You shouldn’t enactment Jesus’ sanction connected what you’re doing to people, and don’t enactment Martin Luther King sanction connected it. ... You’re not Jesus, and you’re not Dr. King.”
Warnock, who says nary residents of Columbia Tower person been evicted, incorporates Walker’s attacks into the database of the challenger’s documented exaggerations and falsehoods. “What benignant of a idiosyncratic lies connected the church?” Warnock said successful Macon. “This isn’t the archetypal clip radical attacked Ebenezer Baptist Church. They attacked Martin Luther King Jr. I’m successful bully company.”
Still, asked whether he’s reconsidered his church’s stewardship of Columbia Towers, Warnock sidestepped: “I’ve already answered the question. I’m arrogant of what my religion does to provender and location the bare and the stateless each azygous week.”
Walker besides accuses Warnock of “getting rich” arsenic a senator, a motion to the pastor’s $7,500-a-month lodging allowance from the church. The payments are not a usurpation of Senate morals rules that bounds senators’ extracurricular income.
On astatine slightest 1 juncture during the runoff, Walker has suggested Warnock is simply a negligent father. Warnock told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution the remark “crossed a line.” Earlier successful the campaign, Walker publicly acknowledged 3 of his children for the archetypal time, doing truthful lone aft The Daily Beast reported connected their existence. Warnock has not mentioned those children successful immoderate of his critiques of Walker.
Walker, meanwhile, has not taken reporters’ questions astatine an unfastened run lawsuit since precocious October, erstwhile a 2nd accuser came guardant to accidental helium had pressured her to person an termination — a contradiction of his advocacy arsenic a campaigner for a nationalist prohibition connected each abortions. Walker has denied the women’s claims.
Both candidates’ erstwhile wives besides loom successful the campaign, though the 2 men debar the taxable themselves, leaving the treatment of their marriages mostly to paid advertising. In 1 ad, Warnock’s erstwhile woman tells Atlanta constabulary that helium ran implicit her foot. The Republican advertisement doesn’t enactment that a constabulary study states that officers recovered nary carnal grounds supporting her claim. A Democratic advertisement features an interrogation with Walker’s archetypal woman detailing that helium threatened unit against her, circumstances Walker has confirmed successful an autobiography.
Since the 2 men met for their lone statement Oct. 14, Warnock has hammered Walker for a lack of argumentation details and sometimes flubbing what argumentation helium does discuss.
Warnock promotes his caller national ineligible proviso capping insulin costs for Medicare recipients and notes Walker said diabetics could negociate their wellness by “eating right,” a signifier that isn’t capable for insulin-dependent diabetic patients.
“Maybe helium ought to use to beryllium a dietician. I’m moving for the United States Senate,” Warnock said successful Macon.
He pounced erstwhile Walker declared the United States is “not ready” for clime enactment and should “keep having those gas-guzzling cars” that helium said already person “good emissions” standards. Warnock added gleeful mockery erstwhile Walker precocious introduced a tangent astir vampires to a run speech.
“I mean, who says that benignant of stuff?” Warnock asked supporters.
Warnock’s aides accidental that the personalized arguments assistance person halfway Democrats that they should not beryllium retired the runoff, portion besides swaying the perchance decisive mediate of the electorate successful the senator’s favor. “Herschel Walker continues to beryllium bogged down by his signifier of lies and disturbing behavior, each of which led him to underperform” successful the archetypal round, said Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s run manager, successful a statement.
From Walker’s camp, Paradise insisted that Republicans’ champion statement remains Warnock’s alignment with Democrats connected economical policy. Still, helium acknowledges the campaign’s code has darkened.
“We’re surely going to proceed to aggressively prosecute the lawsuit against Warnock,” helium said, “and I fishy they’ll bash the same.”
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