In Georgia, Walker's Pace in the Finish Worries Republican Allies - The New York Times

ATLANTA — Herschel Walker was being swamped by antagonistic tv ads. His Democratic opponents were preparing to flood the polls for aboriginal voting arsenic soon arsenic doors opened. After being deed by caller allegations of carpetbagging, helium was near with conscionable implicit a week to marque his last appeals to voters successful the runoff for Georgia’s Senate seat.

But for 5 days, Mr. Walker was disconnected the run trail.

The determination to skip campaigning implicit the important Thanksgiving vacation play has Mr. Walker’s Republican allies airing frustrations and concerns astir his run strategy successful the last agelong of the overtime predetermination against Senator Raphael Warnock.

Democrats, they constituent out, person gotten a caput commencement connected Republicans successful their early-voting propulsion and are drowning retired the G.O.P. connected the airwaves — outspending them two-to-one. With little than a week to go, clip is moving retired accelerated for Mr. Walker to marque inroads with the mean conservatives who did not enactment him during the wide election.

“We astir request a small spot much clip for Herschel’s run to get everything disconnected the ground,” said Jason Shepherd, the erstwhile president of the Cobb County Republican Party, pointing to the modulation from a wide predetermination run to a runoff sprint. Notably, the runoff run was chopped from 9 weeks to 4 by a Republican-backed instrumentality passed past year.

“I deliberation we’re down the 8 shot connected this one,” Mr. Shepherd added.

Mr. Shepherd said Mr. Walker’s determination not to run during Thanksgiving was conscionable 1 troubling choice. He besides pointed to a bid of mailers sent by the Georgia Republican Party encouraging voters to find their polling places that contained breached QR codes arsenic examples of mediocre organizing. And helium raised interest astir the dependable watercourse of advertisements supporting Warnock, a first-term legislator and pastor, connected blimpish speech vigor and modern Christian stations.

Both Democrats and Republicans enactment that they are acold from counting Mr. Walker out. The contention remains wrong the borderline of error, according to caller polling. Democrats outspent Republicans successful the wide election, too, pouring successful much than $100 million, compared with $76 cardinal spent by Republicans.

Still, Mr. Walker, the erstwhile shot star, won 1.9 cardinal votes earlier this period — landing 37,000 votes abbreviated of Mr. Warnock and astir 60,000 votes shy of the 50 percent threshold for winning the spot outright.

His run has been 1 of the astir turbulent successful caller memory: Mr. Walker was recovered to person lied oregon exaggerated details astir his education, his business, his charitable giving and his work successful instrumentality enforcement. He acknowledged a past of convulsive and erratic behavior, tied to a intelligence illness, and did not quality an ex-wife’s accusation of assault. Two women claimed that helium had urged them to person abortions, though helium ran arsenic a staunchly anti-abortion candidate. He denied their accounts. He regularly delivered rambling speeches, which Democrats wide circulated with glee.

“I don’t deliberation it’s an exaggeration to accidental that Herschel Walker mightiness beryllium the astir flawed Republican nominee successful the federation this year,” said Rick Dent, a media advisor who has worked for candidates from some parties and plans to ballot for Mr. Warnock.

Still, contempt each their spending against Mr. Walker, Mr. Dent said, Democrats “have not been capable to shingle him yet.”

With the Democrats’ bulk successful the U.S. Senate already secured, some parties person struggled to framework the contention successful all-or-nothing terms. Still, the runoff volition find whether Democrats triumph a 51st seat, possibly easing the way for immoderate judicial appointments. It volition besides cement the Democrats’ presumption arsenic competitors successful a onetime Republican stronghold.

The ace PAC aligned with Senate Democrats said connected Wednesday that it volition walk astir $6 cardinal connected a pugnacious tv advertisement focused connected the allegations of carnal unit and maltreatment against Mr. Walker. The advertisement strikes a somber tone, quoting Mr. Walker’s ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, his lad Christian and an ex-girlfriend, each saying that Mr. Walker threatened them. It concludes, “Herschel Walker doesn’t beryllium successful the Senate.”

Mr. Walker’s run did not respond to a petition for comment.

Mr. Walker has continued to beryllium deed by damaging news. Last week, a region authoritative successful Texas confirmed that Mr. Walker filed to person a taxation exemption for his location there, citing the spot arsenic his superior residence, adjacent though helium was moving for bureau arsenic a nonmigratory of Georgia. The news, archetypal reported by CNN, prompted a ailment from Democrats, who person asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the authorities lawyer wide to reappraisal whether helium ran afoul of residency rules.

Mr. Walker has not answered questions astir the matter; helium has mostly stopped talking to reporters. He was besides notably soundless this week arsenic different Georgia Republicans denounced erstwhile President Donald J. Trump for hosting Kanye West and Nick Fuentes, 2 figures who person made racist and antisemitic statements, astatine his backstage nine successful Florida.

In 1 motion of Mr. Walker’s pursuit of mean voters, his run agreed this week with aides to Mr. Trump, a governmental benefactor, that the erstwhile president would not run successful Georgia for Mr. Walker.

Representatives for Mr. Walker did not respond to questions astir his closing strategy. His allies person said that helium had idiosyncratic obligations that kept him from campaigning past weekend, including a memorial work for his erstwhile University of Georgia shot coach, Vince Dooley, connected Friday and an 85th day solemnisation for his mother connected Saturday.

Mr. Walker has tried to antagonistic the onslaught of disapproval by acknowledging his deficiency of governmental experience.

“God prepared maine for this infinitesimal due to the fact that helium didn’t privation a politician,” helium said connected Monday astatine a run lawsuit successful Cumming, Ga. “I’m not a politician. I tin tally that football. I tin tally track. And I bash each those different things. I’m that warrior that God was looking for.”

Mr. Walker’s run has besides tally antagonistic advertisements astir Mr. Warnock. One connected the airwaves successful large markets connected Tuesday revisited a 2020 home quality betwixt the legislator and his ex-wife, arsenic good arsenic allegations that an flat gathering with ties to Ebenezer Baptist Church successful Atlanta, wherever Mr. Warnock is the elder pastor, was kept successful squalid conditions and that its unit members threatened to evict tenants for debased outstanding debts.

Mr. Warnock has condemned the allegations arsenic a “desperate” effort to tarnish the sanction of his church. He told reporters successful October that nary evictions took spot astatine the flat gathering this year. A typical for the analyzable told The New York Times that nary evictions had been carried retired since 2020.

Mr. Warnock’s connection has go tightly focused connected amplifying voters’ misgivings astir Mr. Walker. In a spot that started moving successful large Georgia markets connected Monday, voters are seen watching a bid of videos of Mr. Walker successful which helium delivers immoderate of his alien remarks, including musings connected vampire movies and large cows. The viewers respond with disbelief, disorder and embarrassment.

Republicans admit that the connection against Mr. Walker has resonated.

“While surely radical are moving hard successful getting him elected, they are encountering concerns,” said Martha Zoller, a Georgia-based blimpish vigor big and a erstwhile adjutant to Gov. Brian Kemp and erstwhile Senator David Perdue, 2 Georgia Republicans.

Democrats person mostly focused connected pushing their governmental basal backmost retired to vote, but Republicans are inactive moving connected persuading voters that Mr. Walker is the close choice.

If the determination voters marque reflects their penchant betwixt President Biden and the Republicans, Ms. Zoller said, “then Herschel Walker’s got a chance.” “If the prime is strictly based connected the 2 men,” she added, “it’s overmuch much difficult.”

The statement for strict enactment loyalty successful Georgia became harder to marque erstwhile Democrats won power of the Senate earlier this month, deflating the nationalist stakes successful the race.

Still, respective nationalist Republican figures person continued to run alongside Mr. Walker successful an effort to gin up enthusiasm among basal voters and a fraction of moderates successful the suburbs. Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, stumped with Mr. Walker connected Tuesday alongside Senator-elect Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma.

Other high-profile Republicans, including Nikki Haley, a erstwhile South Carolina governor, and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, person attached their names to fund-raising emails for Mr. Walker implicit the past fewer days, but they person not shown up successful idiosyncratic during the runoff.

Perhaps the astir important surrogate for Mr. Walker is Governor Kemp, who pulled successful conscionable implicit 200,000 much votes than Mr. Walker to triumph re-election. Mr. Walker’s run views Mr. Kemp arsenic an influential dependable with some conservatives and moderates who whitethorn beryllium motivated to ballot for Mr. Walker. The politician has contributed unit and resources to Mr. Walker’s origin and has appeared alongside Mr. Walker astatine a run lawsuit and fund-raiser. He besides chopped an advertisement with a direct-to-camera entreaty to voters connected behalf of Mr. Walker.

“Herschel Walker volition ballot for Georgia — not beryllium different rubber stamp for Joe Biden,” Mr. Kemp says successful the ad. “That’s wherefore I’m backing Herschel. And I anticipation you’ll articulation maine successful voting for him too.”

“It has been captious for Governor Kemp to enactment his limb astir Herschel and marque it a squad sport,” said Ralph Reed, a Walker protagonist and the laminitis of the Faith and Freedom Coalition. “That volition beryllium a driving connection for assemblage educated and suburban voters who mightiness person held backmost earlier oregon mightiness not person been inclined to crook out.”

Turnout, indeed, volition beryllium crucial. More than 800,000 radical person formed ballots truthful far, according to the Georgia Secretary of State, outpacing turnout during the early-voting play of the 2018 wide election. The information surge extends crossed the state, including to counties that Mr. Walker won and the deep-blue metro Atlanta region.

The Democrats person called successful reinforcements, too. Former President Barack Obama volition run for Mr. Warnock successful Atlanta connected Thursday. The erstwhile archetypal woman Michelle Obama has recorded a bid of robocalls encouraging radical to vote.

Jonathan Weisman contributed reporting.