Georgia run-off: Who are Herschel Walker and Raphael Warnock?
After Herschel Walker was defeated by Democrat Raphael Warnock in Georgia’s crucial Senate race, the Republican’s son blamed Donald Trump for “demanding that he run”.
Christian Walker made a series of posts to Twitter soon after the results were projected in Warnock’s favour on Tuesday night, and lashed out at Republicans for choosing his former football star father because he has the “same skin color as his opponent”.
The Associated Press and other US outlets projected the result of the race in the Democrat’s favour, some three-and-a-half hours after polls officially closed at 7pm in Georgia.
While votes are still being counted, it means Mr Warnock – the first Black US senator from Georgia– has an unassailable lead against his Republican rival in the race to win a full six-year term.
Mr Warnock’s victory gives Democrats a 51-49 majority in the Senate.
The two candidates offered a stark choice to the Black voters in the state. Mr Warnock, a senior minister of Martin Luther King’s Atlanta church, echoes traditional liberal notions of the Black experience, while Mr Walker advocates the language of white cultural conservatism.
Herschel Walker’s confounding campaign hits a dead end. What’s next for the GOP football star?
Herschel Walker entered the Georgia Senate race against Senator Raphael Warnock with a stature that few college athletes enjoyed, especially in the Peach State. In 1980, he led the University of Georgia to a national championship, running 1,616 yards, a record for a freshman.
In 1982, he won the Heisman Trophy before he went on to play for the New Jersey Generals, a team in the short-lived United States Football League owned by New York City real estate mogul Donald Trump.
Following the defeat in the state, Mr Walker leaves the Senate race a laughingstock in Republican politics, write Eric Garcia and Andrew Feinberg.
Shweta Sharma7 December 2022 07:30
Walker went nearly two months without answering reporters’ questions
Republican candidate Herschel Walker did not take questions from reporters on the trail for nearly two months as the Georgia Senate race moved toward its conclusion.
Josh Marcus7 December 2022 07:00
Walker’s ex-partners celebrate his defeat
Herschel Walker, whose election campaign was marred by scandals and allegations, suffered defeat at the hands of pastor-turned-Democratic senator Raphael Warnock.
Mr Walker’s former partner has used the opportunity to deride him and celebrate his defeat.
“I am extremely proud of the outcome of this runoff,” said Cheryl Parsa, who claimed to be in a five-year-long relationship with the former football star.
She has alleged he habitually lied, cheated on her, and violently attacked her on one occasion.
“The great people of Georgia deserve better representation in the senate than Herschel Walker, and today they have chosen better”.
Another woman, who was not named, told Daily Beast: “Finally, this violent liar, cheater, adulterer, abuser and deranged, manipulative idiot has been defeated.”
“As a victim of this disgusting liar, I finally feel relieved, vindicated, and not alone.”
She claimed to be in a relationship with him for two years in 1996.
Shweta Sharma7 December 2022 06:51
‘What a mess,’ Donald Trump reacts to Warnock’s victory
Donald Trump said America is in big trouble as he responded to Democratic senator Raphael Warnock’s victory in the Georgia runoff election.
Herschel Walker, who was one of Mr Trump’s earliest endorsements, conceded defeat tonight.
Posting on his Truth Social website in all caps, Mr Trump said: “OUR COUNTRY IS IN BIG TROUBLE. WHAT A MESS!”
Shweta Sharma7 December 2022 06:29