Exclusive – ‘Herschel Will Win’: Tom Cotton to Rally with Walker Against Democrat Warnock in Georgia

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) is not backing down from supporting the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Georgia, retired NFL star running back Herschel Walker, in the wake of media attacks on the candidate.

In fact, Cotton is doubling down in his support: The senator confirmed to Breitbart News on Thursday that next week he will hit the campaign trail in Georgia to hold a rally with Walker just weeks ahead of the Nov. 8 general election where Walker faces Democrat incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA).

“Hershel Walker will be a champion for Georgia,” Cotton told Breitbart News. “He’ll vote to keep violent criminals in jail, for lower gas prices, and to stop Biden’s inflationary policies. I’m all in to help Hershel Walker get to the Senate so he can fight for Georgia.”

Sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News to expect Cotton to hammer Warnock for being weak on crime — the Democrat has regularly backed leftist policies that enable criminality — and for voting with Democrat President Joe Biden 100 percent of the time. Warnock, despite presenting himself as a likable moderate, has literally never once broken with Biden on any votes in the U.S. Senate.

Cotton redoubling efforts to back Walker comes as other national Republicans such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chaired by Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and the Senate Leadership Fund — Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell’s PAC — have rallied to Walker’s side. Other high profile national surrogates have also backed up Walker in the wake of media attacks this week and more are expected to do so as well.

“Herschel will win,” a GOP operative told Breitbart News. “Cotton’s trip shows Republicans are rallying around Hershel. No Georgian cares about allegations from 15 years ago, they care about how Warnock has wrecked Georgia’s economy today.”

Walker has been hit with allegations from an anonymous woman through a story in the left-wing Daily Beast who claims he encouraged her to get an abortion more than a decade ago, and then he paid for it and sent her a get-well card. Walker has denied the allegations.

It’s not surprising that Walker has had a checkered personal life history. Regardless of the veracity of this particular claim, Walker has been open about his struggles in the past and has made that point again in interviews and in a recent ad he released in the wake of the controversy.

Democrats, particularly Warnock, are meanwhile playing this case very carefully. Warnock demurred when asked his thoughts on the matter the other day, and Democrats have thus far refused to use the matter in ads — meaning that despite widespread establishment national media coverage of the story it is not sinking in in Georgia to great effect.

In fact, using these matters against Walker might actually backfire on Warnock and Democrats if the Democrats decide to slide into the gutter with them. Warnock is already struggling with black voters, underperforming his historic January 2021 runoff mark of 92 percent support in the black community. He barely won that election with such strong black support in a state where approximately 30 percent of the electorate is black — but now Warnock has, according to recent polling from Marist, dropped down to the low 80s at 80 percent exactly in black community support.

CNN’s Harry Enten recently warned in a televised segment that nationally Democrats seem to be doing much worse with black voters than recent previous cycles. There is perhaps no swing state where that voting bloc is more important than Georgia, so being too heavy-handed against a black man who has been honest about his personal life problems may indeed backfire on them.

Walker himself seems to be leaning into that argument, too, as his recent ad lights up Warnock — who until his election to the Senate last year was a pastor — for being a pastor but not helping or supporting people seeking redemption.

Walker has openly courted the evangelical right, and has talked about being born again as a Christian including in an interview with Hugh Hewitt on the matter this week.

New: Herschel Walker, who has pushed for a national abortion ban, says of paid-abortion allegation on @hughhewitt: “If that had happened, I would have said there's nothing to be ashamed of there. People have done that — but I know nothing about it.” pic.twitter.com/Tqx48i3rGK

— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) October 6, 2022

Warnock’s own personal life issues too — his ex-wife accused him of running over her foot with his car during a dispute — may tarnish efforts to attack Walker’s personal life.

Polls also indicate the race is in a virtual tie, so the matter may come back around down to the issues in the end anyway.