Why Republicans can't walk away from Herschel Walker - CNN

2 years ago 66
Herschel Walker 0523 FILE

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CNN  — 

Republicans are lasting by Herschel Walker.

“I deliberation we’re going to instrumentality with Walker….we’re going instrumentality it each the mode to the end,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said successful an interrogation with CNN that aired Tuesday afternoon. “I deliberation they’re going to bent successful determination and scrap to the finish.”

McConnell’s comments came conscionable hours earlier The Washington Post reported that “the parent of 1 of Herschel Walker’s children had to repeatedly property the erstwhile shot prima who is present the Republican Senate nominee successful Georgia for funds to wage for a 2009 termination that she said helium wanted her to have, according to the pistillate and a idiosyncratic she confided successful astatine the time.”

That was the latest successful a bid of allegations swirling astir Walker and his past relationships with women. Amid each of this, his son, Christian, a blimpish influencer, has spoken retired against his begetter – insisting helium was a less-than-ideal genitor and that members of his household had urged him not to tally for office.

The opposition betwixt McConnell’s ballot of assurance successful Walker and the latest allegation against the Republican Senate nominee successful Georgia are striking. But, it speaks to an uncomfortable world that undergirds Republicans’ continued enactment for Walker: They severely request to triumph this spot for the Senate majority, and it’s simply excessively precocious present to backmost distant from him and his troubled candidacy.

The Senate mathematics is simple. Republicans request to nett a azygous spot to triumph the majority. But, with Dr. Mehmet Oz trailing successful Pennsylvania wherever Republican Sen. Pat Toomey is retiring and Arizona Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly moving amazingly beardown against Blake Masters, Republicans are looking astatine a precise constrictive model of accidental to marque the gains they needs.

A two-seat window, successful fact. Nevada, wherever Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto is successful a precise choky contention with Adam Laxalt and, you guessed it, Georgia wherever Walker continues to tally competitively against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock.

There’s conscionable nary different spot that has travel connected the committee for Republicans that could let them to measurement distant from Walker. New Hampshire was, astatine the commencement of the predetermination cycle, wide seen arsenic a imaginable pickup but fashionable Gov. Chris Sununu decided not to tally and Trump-aligned Don Bolduc emerged arsenic the Republican nominee. While Republican strategists inactive presumption Sen. Maggie Hassan arsenic vulnerable, she is intelligibly successful a amended spot than galore expected her to beryllium adjacent a twelvemonth ago. In Colorado, Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet’s numbers are somewhat brushed but a Marist canvass released this week showed him starring Republican nominee Joe O’Dea 48% to 41%.

Given each of that, what McConnell is engaging successful is simply a spot of realpolitik. He is sticking with Walker not due to the fact that helium buys that each of the allegations against Walker are mendacious oregon due to the fact that helium thinks Walker is simply a stellar campaigner but due to the fact that Walker gives him the champion accidental to triumph successful a authorities wherever polling suggests Republicans tin inactive win.

That’s it. Don’t overthink it. This isn’t astir Walker. Not really. This is astir getting McConnell to 51 seats successful the Senate – plain and simple.

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