University of Georgia football legend Herschel Walker has filed the necessary paperwork to run for United States Senate in the Peach State after months of teasing the run. No official announcement has been made by Walker.
Walker spoke at the 2020 Republican National Convention in support of President Donald Trump, and Trump has returned the favor by floating and promoting Walker’s candidacy before it has even begun.
In a statement released by the former president in March, Trump asked “wouldn’t it be great if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia?” and answered his own question by asserting that Walker “would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run, Herschel, Run!”
In spite of Trump’s enthusiastic support of him, others harbor serious reservations about his chances should he win the Republican nomination and face off against Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock. Walker has demonstrated a number of troubling behaviors over the years and reportedly once held a gun to his ex-wife’s head while threatening “to blow your f’ing brains out.”
Previous reporting at National Review indicated that Georgia GOP insiders were concerned about Walkers past and his lack of political experience, with one senior Republican strategist calling a hypothetical Walker run “a vanity project for President Trump and a gold-mining expedition for a few consultants.”
“The sentiment’s very pervasive that Herschel can’t win a general. He just can’t,” they continued.
Chip Lake, another Republican politico in Georgia, was more optimistic, calling Walker a high-risk, high-reward nominee who could benefit from “a very good year” for the GOP in 2022.
The other candidates for the Republican nomination include Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Trump administration official Latham Sadler, and Trump surrogate Kelvin King.
Republicans boasted control of both Georgia Senate seats prior to the 2020 election cycle, when both David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler lost in run-off elections widely believed to be affected by Trump’s baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud in the state.