A Herschel Walker campaign implosion explainer

A lot happened, here is a summary

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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

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:

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.

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.

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.

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