Walker had a surprisingly strong debate. He had some rocky moments, and no one will ever mistake him for an orator or a policy maven. But he was direct and combative, and scored points against Warnock, especially on abortion. He kept coming back to the point that Warnock left Georgians behind when he went to Washington and voted with Joe Biden 96 percent of the time.
It helped that the moderators were shockingly fair.
Here is the key exchange on abortion:
Mod to @SenatorWarnock @ReverendWarnock: do you believe there should be any limitations on abortion?
Warnock: I just feel like w/ the doc & the woman, the room is already full, lol.
. @HerschelWalker: I will remind the pastor that there is also a baby in the room.#GASenDebate pic.twitter.com/6mbzevEYEU
— Meara (@MillennialOther) October 14, 2022
Warnock was evasive on whether he favors any restrictions on abortion, whether he wants Biden to run again, whether the Braves should change their name, and whether he supports court-packing or not. He sounded like a politician who is worried about letting Georgians know his true views on key questions — because he is.
He also didn’t tell the truth about his church and evictions.
Walker: "He won't answer that about evicting the people from the church.."
Warnock: "We have not evicted those tenets."
Walker: "He's now telling you 'I didn't evict anyone.' It is written in the paper!..Senator, you did! It's okay to speak the truth. Do not bear false witness! pic.twitter.com/YxBzjr8XeX
— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 14, 2022
Walker made it easier for skeptical Republicans to vote for him, and made some progress in refocusing the race on Warnock and Biden, which he desperately needs to do. Certainly, any voters just starting to pay attention to the race wouldn’t have tuned in and concluded Walker is some sort of monster.
Altogether, a good night for him.