JEFFERSON COUNTY, Georgia — Republican US Senate candidate Herschel Walker responded to some hard questions Thursday following a campaign event in rural Wadley in east Georgia.
Walker has been under fire from his son for lying about his family after news broke that Walker reportedly paid for an abortion for a girlfriend. Again today, Walker said the story was false.
Herschel Walker’s speech in a Jefferson County lumber yard remarkably didn’t include a single reference to his run for the US senate or about any issues in the race.
Walker has been dogged by stories in the Daily Beast saying he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion. He talked to reporters after the speech.
"I know why you're here," Walker told them. "This abortion thing, it’s false. It’s a lie. That’s what I said. Anything I said with my ex-wife, and that’s what Christian is talking about, I don’t know."
Christian is Walker’s adult son. Following the first Daily Beast story, the young man posted searing criticism of the Republican candidate for the US Senate.
“Family values, people? He had four kids with four different women. Wasn’t in the house raising one of them. He was out having sex with other women," the younger Walker said in an emotionally charged video.
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The elder Walker was asked what he thought about his son's assertion that the US senate candidate isn't trustworthy. "Well, just like what I just said, the Democrats are desperate for this seat. This seat is important," Walker said. "I love my family. I’ll always love my family. I’m going to win this race. I know I’m going to win this race and stuff."
Wednesday night on CNN, Republican Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan bemoaned what he called Walker’s "baggage."
"I think even the most staunch Republicans are rattled. I think every Republican knew that there was baggage out there. But the weight of that baggage is starting to feel a little close to unbearable at this point," Duncan said.
Walker said he has no intention of backing away from the senate race. In an 11Alive poll released Wednesday, Raphael Warnock had a double-digit lead.
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