By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republican Herschel Walker’s bid to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia comes to a head on Friday when they meet for their sole televised debate in a contentious race that could help determine which party controls the Senate.
The battle between Walker, a one-time football star and political novice backed by former President Donald Trump, and Warnock, a pastor at a historic Atlanta church who has served less than two years in the Senate, is one of the most closely watched contests in the Nov. 8 congressional elections.
The race has been rocked by media reports that Walker, who has voiced opposition to abortion without exceptions, paid for an abortion in 2009 to terminate the pregnancy of a woman he was dating and who later gave birth to one of his children. Walker has called the allegation a “flat-out lie.” Reuters has not independently confirmed the claim.
The issue is expected to be among many discussed when Walker and Warnock hold their debate, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. EDT (2300 GMT), in Savannah. Opinion polls show the race as a toss-up.
President Joe Biden’s fellow Democrats hold slim majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives. Senate control could be decided by the outcome of races in Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Georgia was a reliably Republican state, with two Republican senators, until Biden beat Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Warnock and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff then claimed the state’s two Senate seats in January 2021 run-off elections.
Two prominent Senate Republicans – Rick Scott and Tom Cotton – campaigned with Walker this week, delivering a message that Republicans need to secure a majority in the chamber to stop Biden’s legislative agenda.
“We are solidly behind our candidates and striving to get out the vote and secure it,” Bibb County Republican Party Chairman David Sumrall said.
“There aren’t that many people who are undecided in the race,” Republican strategist Charlie Black added. “But those who are undecided are looking for something to reassure them that he’s capable. If Herschel does well, then that’s going to help him.”
Warnock is an eloquent speaker who is senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King once preached. Walker on the other hand has been known to make confusing statements on policy issues such as climate change.
Walker himself tried to lower expectations in an interview with the Savannah Morning News last month, saying: “I’m a country boy. I’m not that smart. He’s a preacher.”
“My opponent has talked the talk. Friday’s the time to walk the walk. See you on the debate stage, Herschel Walker,” Warnock wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
Warnock initially accepted invitations to three debates, but Walker agreed to only one.
If neither candidate gets more than 50% of the vote on Nov. 8, the race would be decided in a Dec. 6 run-off election.
Republicans have sought to steer voter attention away from questions about Walker’s character and toward the need to gain control of the Senate, focusing upon issues including inflation, crime and border security.
An opinion poll conducted by the University of Georgia showed Warnock leading Walker 46% to 43% among likely voters. That compares to Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s 51% to 41% lead over Democrat Stacey Abrams in his re-election race.
The difference in the two Georgia races may be driven by independent and Democratic voters who favor a split ticket between Kemp and Warnock, according to University of Georgia political science professor Trey Hood, who oversaw the survey.
Hood added that most of the polling in the survey was conducted before the first media reports on the abortion allegation surfaced.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Will Dunham and Scott Malone)
