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A Herschel Walker campaign implosion explainer

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A Herschel Walker campaign implosion explainer

A lot happened, here is a summary

Don Moynihan
Oct 4, 2022
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A Herschel Walker campaign implosion explainer

donmoynihan.substack.com

Last night was one of those wild nights where politics unfolded on twitter in real time.

Herschel Walker’s campaign for Senator in Georgia seemingly imploded. Walker has been previously credibly accused of spousal abuse and of fathering multiple children out-of-wedlock despite denouncing absentee parents, but with limited effect. If he survives this, however, truly nothing matters.

If you are tuning in this morning, here is an explainer of how the night unfolded.

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At 7pm, Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast dropped a bombshell story. A woman accused Walker, who opposes access to abortion under any conditions, of encouraging her to have an abortion and paying for it.

Twitter avatar for @SollenbergerRC
Roger Sollenberger @SollenbergerRC
EXCLUSIVE: Herschel Walker, an anti-abortion absolutist, paid for an abortion in 2009. We have the receipts. Literally. Me @thedailybeast
thedailybeast.com‘Pro-Life’ Herschel Walker Paid for Girlfriend’s AbortionThe woman has receipts—and a “get well” card she says the football star, now a Senate candidate, sent her.
11:01 PM ∙ Oct 3, 2022
49,114Likes16,767Retweets

The story appears credible, with the reporters saying they have documentation of the relationship, procedure and payment. It also includes some extraordinary detail like Walker sending the woman a “Rest…Relax…Recover” post-abortion card.

Political commentator Erick Erickson suggested that this was old news, which it very much was not, and then noted that Walker was denying the charges, and then reiterated that, yes, actually, he had definitely heard rumors of this story.

Sean Hannity picked up the story, and had Walker on. Walker reiterated his denials about the abortion, though did not exclude the possibility that he had given money to the woman in question. “I give money to people all the time…I believe in being generous.”

Twitter avatar for @atrupar
Aaron Rupar @atrupar
"I send money to a lot of people" -- Walker on an alleged payment he made to a woman who says he paid for her abortion
1:32 AM ∙ Oct 4, 2022
888Likes209Retweets

Then things got even more bizarre. Walker’s son, Christian, who has carved out a niche as a visible Trump supporter started to unload on his father on twitter and Instagram.

A couple of notable things here.

First, amidst the barrage of insults, Christian Walker gave credence to domestic abuse claims that have dogged Walker (“threatened to kill us”). It becomes harder to dismiss these claims when they come from someone who was introducing Walker at Mar-A-Lago just a few months back.
Second, Christian Walker’s MAGA-world celebrity status undermines any efforts to circle the wagons around his father. Back to Erickson:

Twitter avatar for @EWErickson
Erick Erickson @EWErickson
One notable thing here — it wasn't the Daily Beast story that has gotten GA-GOP types into despair mode. It's Herschel Walker's son's Twitter thread that served as the admission against interest for Walker and it's all down hill from there.
Twitter avatar for @EWErickson
Erick Erickson @EWErickson
I'd largely thought Walker could pull this off despite his baggage. I'll see what sort of response he mounts, but given text messages tonight, Georgia GOP'ers are praying for Dr. Oz to win. Walker hasn't mounted a good response to any attack, and this is brutal, probably a KO.
1:40 AM ∙ Oct 4, 2022
422Likes92Retweets

Is there some broader message here? The news about Walker came the same day that another struggling Republican candidate, Mehmet Oz, came under criticism for running animal experiments that killed a bunch of puppies in fairly disturbing circumstances.

Maybe Oz and Walker will recover, but if not, Republicans may have lost an opportunity to retake the Senate because of what Mitch McConnell referred to as “candidate quality,” a thinly-veiled criticism of Trump-endorsed Senate candidates who did not seem ready for prime-time.

Twitter avatar for @therecount
The Recount @therecount
“I think there’s probably a greater likelihood the House flips than the Senate ... Candidate quality has a lot to do with the outcome.” — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell does not sound too confident in Republicans’ ability to retake the Senate
7:52 PM ∙ Aug 18, 2022
218Likes53Retweets

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A Herschel Walker campaign implosion explainer

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Mr. Niss
Oct 4, 2022Liked by Don Moynihan

Referring to Erick Erickson as a "political commentator" without the word "idiot" attached is suboptimal.

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