Making his closing argument in a closely contested race, Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker told supporters Friday he’s in a “spiritual battle” – but that he’s prepared as Election Day approaches.
At a rally on a sunny morning in Newnan, Georgia, Walker largely stuck to his campaign staples during his speech, beginning with his personal biography of growing up in Wrightsville, detailing a speech impediment as a child and discussing his faith.
Walker again worked to link his opponent, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, to President Joe Biden.
“You hear our President, just the other day is gonna say the biggest threat to democracy is in voting for somebody in the Republican Party. This man is so confused, isn’t he? He’s confused, because the biggest threat to democracy is him being in the White House. The biggest threat to democracy is by Sen. Warnock voting four times against the Keystone Pipeline. That means that we gave up all our energy to our enemies, and they don’t know the definition of enemy, do they?” said Walker.
Cyndi Flanagan, a resident of Senoia, said she was attending the rally to support Walker.
“Everybody has an ex in their life, and that’s his past and we are looking for a future, and Warnock does not support our future. Herschel Walker does,” Flanagan said of the allegations that Walker paid for abortions of past partners, despite his own hardline position on the issue.
Voter Joe Stancil added, “Sure, he’s done a lot of things in the past that may have been questionable; we all have a past.”
Dot Moody of Newnan said she is motivated to vote for Walker “because I want normalcy back again.”
“In 2 years, our life has changed and I just want things the way they were. I want to undo what Biden has done since day one,” she said.
Silbia Tubbs said she’s voting for Walker out of concern about crime and inflation.
“I got to the supermarket, [spend] $100, and I say, ‘What did I buy?'” said Tubbs, who described herself as an independent voter principally concerned with God, family and country.
“The Biden agenda has taken this country down,” she said, pointing to the ground. “Our children, I’m very concerned about what they are going to learn in the school. My little grandson is going to be told, ‘Maybe you are a boy, maybe you are a girl,'” she said. “For me, that’s absolutely atrocious.”
Small business owner Nina Blackwelder said she was excited to support Walker because of his position on economic policy. Blackwelder owns Triple Barreled Outfitters, a gun store in Peachtree City.
“We have been experiencing some downturns in the current economy, so we are excited to see what opportunities lie in Republican leadership and see if there is an opportunity to turn some things around for us as well as others,” said Blackwelder, who ran for local office in 2019.
