ATLANTA (AP) \u2014 Herschel Walker on Tuesday filed paperwork to run for U.S. Senate in Georgia after months of speculation, joining other Republicans seeking to unseat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker, 59, joins the race with high name recognition, having won the Heisman Trophy in 1982 as a University of Georgia running back. Perhaps more important in today\u2019s Republican Party, he carries the backing of former President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker has never run for office and will likely face\u00a0scrutiny over his turbulent personal history\u00a0as well as policy stances. But if he emerges from the Republican primary, the Senate contest would feature two Black men vying for a seat in the heart of the Deep South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker stayed mum Tuesday, continuing a pattern of few comments as he started to put a Senate bid in motion. He\u00a0registered to vote last week, using an Atlanta residence owned by his wife, Julie Blanchard. Walker signed Federal Election Commission papers Tuesday declaring his candidacy, allowing him to raise money for a Senate run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Republicans already running for the Senate seat include state Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, former banking executive and Navy veteran Latham Saddler and contractor Kelvin King. Some other potential GOP candidates may not run with Walker\u2019s entry into the race, including former Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who lost to Warnock in a January special election, and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, a four-term congressman from near Savannah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker and Trump\u2019s relationship dates back to the 1980s, when Walker played for a Trump-owned team in the short-lived United States Football League. Walker, who went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL, spoke in support of Trump at the 2020 Republican National Convention and later attended Trump\u2019s private birthday celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump has publicly encouraged Walker to enter the primary, telling a radio show in June that \u201che\u2019s a great guy, he\u2019s a patriot and he\u2019s a very loyal person, he\u2019s a very strong person. They love him in Georgia, I tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With Trump the \u201cdefining figure\u201d in today\u2019s GOP, University of Georgia political science Professor Charles Bullock said his backing might be all Walker needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf he tells them they need to go out and vote for Herschel Walker, that\u2019s the strongest endorsement he can possibly get,\u201d Bullock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker\u2019s supporters hope he can reach moderate Republicans and peel off some traditionally Democratic African Americans. But the former president\u2019s support could be a liability in a general election in closely divided Georgia, where a crucial fraction of more affluent GOP voters defected to Democrat Joe Biden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy the end of this long, divisive, and expensive intra-party fight, it\u2019ll be clear that none of these candidates are focused on the issues that matter most to Georgians,\u201d Georgia Democratic Party spokesperson Dan Gottlieb said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker could share a Republican ticket with Gov. Brian Kemp, a frequent target of Trump attacks, as\u00a0Kemp seeks reelection.\u00a0Trump has vowed vengeance against Kemp, saying he didn\u2019t do enough to overturn Trump\u2019s election loss. It\u2019s unclear if that enmity would damage Republican chances, with Democrats possibly fielding a united ticket of Warnock and Stacey Abrams. Walker endorsed Kemp, a fervent Georgia football fan, in Kemp\u2019s 2018 victory over Abrams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Warnock has already raised $10.5 million for the 2022 race but has downplayed Walker\u2019s entry. He\u2019s now traveling the state promoting a jobs agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd I hear there\u2019s a race next year,\u201d Warnock told the Atlanta Press Club last week when asked about Walker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Black has tweaked Walker for his long absence from Georgia, and did so again Tuesday in a video \u201cwelcoming\u201d Walker to the race and challenging him to come to a Republican fish fry Saturday south of Macon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI suppose I\u2019ve always wanted an autograph,\u201d Black said, holding up a weathered football. \u201cBut there are some things that are far more important now: the future of our country, the future of our families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sadler said in a statement that he\u2019s a better choice as a \u201cnext generation conservative leader who can beat Raphael Warnock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis campaign isn\u2019t about the glories of yesterday; it\u2019s about our nation\u2019s future,\u201d Sadler said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker has been living outside Dallas and is making his first run for office. Untested as a candidate, it\u2019s unclear whether he will be an adept campaigner or fundraiser, while also fleshing out positions on policy matters he\u2019s never had to address in detail. Walker has supported Trump\u2019s baseless assertions that he was cheated out of reelection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker also has a turbulent personal history that could factor into a campaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Associated Press review of public records uncovered detailed accusations that Walker repeatedly threatened the life of his ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, by telling her relatives he would kill Grossman and her new boyfriend. Walker denied the accusations, but a judge granted a protective order in 2005 and for a time barred Walker from owning guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2008, Walker wrote a book that detailed his struggles with mental illness. He wrote that he\u2019d been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, once known as multiple personality disorder. He said he constructed alternate personalities as a defense against bullying he suffered as a stuttering, overweight child. Walker was raised in Wrightsville, 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Macon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker also wrote of playing Russian roulette with a gun at his kitchen table in 1991. Overall, Walker cast his story as a turnaround, saying he found a path to \u201cintegration\u201d because of therapy and his Christian faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The book caused problems for one of Walker\u2019s key business relationships. In a 2019 legal deposition, a manager for food distributor Sysco said the company almost cut ties with Walker\u2019s poultry company, Renaissance Man Food Services, when the book created \u201chavoc.\u201d Ultimately, Sysco stuck with Walker\u2019s company until the controversy died down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Walker has more recently made outsized claims about his business success. He repeatedly claimed his company employed hundreds of workers and grossed $70 million or more in annual sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Walker\u2019s company reported just eight employees when it applied for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan last year. In a recent court case, Walker said his company averaged about $1.5 million a year in profit from 2008 to 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
State election officials opened an investigation into his wife\u2019s residency\u00a0after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution\u00a0reported\u00a0that records show Blanchard voted in Georgia despite living in Texas. Walker is among Trump supporters who continue to repeat the president\u2019s false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him through fraud. Election officials nationwide found\u00a0no widespread fraud.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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