Herschel Walker Declares Himself Anti-Choice From “Womb to the Tomb” While No-Showing Final GOP Debate

Herschel Walker is doubling down on his support for banning all abortions without exceptions for rape or incest or to save the life of the mother, promising to “protect the unborn with my life … because I believe from the womb to the tomb.“

Walker was also represented at last night’s GOP primary debate with an empty podium after again refusing to participate. Republicans are asking “what is he hiding” and “what is he afraid of?” Georgia Republicans, conservative commentators, and GOP activists alike have been scrutinizing the Trump-tapped candidate’s “refus[al] to face voters” amid a barrage of reports about his repeated lies and questionable record.
 

Read the highlights from last night’s debate here:

A Senate GOP debate without Herschel Walker highlights new abortion clash
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/3/22

• A Republican debate for the U.S. Senate on Tuesday provided a striking example of how a draft ruling that would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion has upended campaign politics in Georgia.
• And four of the five Republican Senate candidates who attended the Atlanta Press Club debate said they backed a “total” abortion ban that includes cases of incest and rape.
• Their staunch anti-abortion stances struck a sharp contrast with Warnock, who described himself Tuesday as a “pro-choice pastor” who would fight to safeguard access to abortions.
• Missing from the stage was GOP front-runner Herschel Walker, a former football star who was instead hosting a fundraiser in east Georgia while his rivals mocked him as a coward for skipping the event. He also was a no-show at a previous debate…
• “Herschel Walker will not win in November,” said Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, who, like the other contenders, framed himself as the best alternative to Walker.
• “Herschel Walker is ignoring the Georgia voters and ignoring us,” Black said, adding: “If that’s what he does now, that’s what he’ll do in the future.”
• Some of his appearances have produced awkward gaffes and campaign blunders.
• His rivals promised it would come back to haunt him. Former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler called Walker’s absence “pathetic.” At one point, addressing the empty podium, he asked, “What do you think the United States Senate does?”
• King offered the same assessment: “He hasn’t been vetted, and frankly he’s not prepared to stand up against Raphael Warnock.”
• And four of the contenders — Black, Clark, King and Saddler — said unequivocally that they would support a national law that promoted a “total” abortion ban.
• Walker, too, has taken a similar stance. He filled out a survey from the Georgia Life Alliance that supported outlawing abortion, including in instances of rape and incest, saying he’d back “legislation which protects the sanctity of human life, even if the legislation is not perfect.”
• And at a campaign stop in Milledgeville on Tuesday, Walker promised to “protect the unborn with my life … because I believe from the womb to the tomb.”

Without Herschel Walker, GOP Senate primary debate digs into policy issues
Georgia Public Broadcasting, 5/3/22

• His fellow Republicans say Walker’s current campaign strategy and lengthy political baggage (including recent reports of overstated business claims, deficient personal financial disclosures and a history of domestic violence) makes his challenge against Warnock likely to fail in an otherwise good election year for Republicans.
• Even Trump has concerns about Walker’s chances of victory in November, though he blames it on Gov. Brian Kemp and Kemp possibly winning his primary against Trump-backed former Sen. David Perdue.
• In a tele-rally for Perdue on Monday, Trump said that supporting Kemp in the primary was a “vote for Stacey Abrams.”
• “If Brian Kemp gets in, I think it’s going to be very, very hard for Herschel Walker to win,” he said. “Because I don’t believe that Republicans are going to go out and vote for Brian Kemp, and if they’re not voting for Brian Kemp, they’re not going to be able to vote for Herschel Walker.”

See what Georgia conservative voters, activists, commentators, and primary rivals have been saying about Walker’s debate-dodging debacle.

Read more about Herschel Walker doubling down on his support for banning abortions — even in cases of rape and incest, or to save the mother’s life.

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