Under the Friday night TV lights and locked in a tight political battle, Georgia’s Senate candidates are set to hit the debate stage for the first, and likely only, time.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and former football star and Republican nominee Herschel Walker will debate in Savannah, Georgia, on Friday, just three days before the start of early in-person voting.
The matchup, hosted by Nexstar Media, will begin at 7 p.m. ET.
It will be the first time Walker hits the debate stage after skipping debates during the GOP primary and comes in the wake of allegations, first reported by the Daily Beast, that he paid the cost of a woman’s abortion more than a decade ago. Subsequent reports identified the woman as the mother of one of Walker’s children. (ABC News has not independently confirmed the report.)
Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock speaks to supporters during his campaign tour, Oct. 8, 2022, in Columbus, Ga. Warnock is running for relection against Republican candidate Herschel Walker.
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Walker, has denied ever paying for an abortion in an interview with ABC News’ Linsey Davis, said he knows the identity of the woman making the claims, though he maintains she is lying.
In the weeks leading up to the debate, Walker has sought to downplay expectations of how he’ll match up against Warnock, an established orator serving as the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached.
“I’m this country boy, you know, I’m not that smart.” Walker said sarcastically at a campaign stop last month. “And he’s that preacher. He’s a smart man, wear these nice suits. So he gonna show up, embarrass me at the debate.”
Georgia Republican Senatorial candidate Herschel Walker speaks at a campaign event, Oct. 11, 2022, in Carrollton, Ga. Walker is running for election against Senator Rev. Raphael Warnock.
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
But a pre-debate memo released by the campaign Thursday shows Walker has prepared, planning to link Warnock to national Democrats. “He went to Washington and left Georgia behind, prioritizing Biden and Chuck Schumer’s woke agenda.”
“It is critical they know who Raphael Warnock really is and how he consistently put Joe Biden ahead of Georgia. Georgians deserve answers,” campaign spokesperson Will Kiley said.
On the other hand, Warnock said Friday’s debate would show the “deep differences” between himself and Walker.
The campaign says Walker will have to “defend out-of-step positions” and “will almost certainly be asked about a pattern of disturbing behavior, he is likely to refuse to answer for.”
Warnock has stayed relatively quiet from hitting back at Walker on the recent abortion allegations when campaigning, only discussing the claims when pressed by reporters. Though, in campaign ads, he has highlighted domestic abuse allegations from Walker’s ex-wife Cindy Grossman, so time will tell how hard he hits Walker on the allegations when out on the debate stage.
Heading into the final stretch of the campaign, both candidates are set to make their pitch to voters in a race that could determine the balance of power in Congress.
New polling, released from Quinnipiac University Wednesday, shows despite recent allegations against Walker, Georgia’s Senate race is still close. Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock leads Walker 52% to 45%, an essentially unchanged margin from Quinnipiac’s Sept. 14 poll where Warnock held an advantage over Walker 52% to 46%.
