Republican Explains Why Herschel Walker May Be Doomed In Georgia Senate Runoff

Former Paul Ryan and John Boehner staffer Brendan Buck said that Sen. Raphael Warnock is the favorite in the Georgia Senate runoff and explained why.

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Buck said on MSNBC:

Brian Kemp not being on the ballot is going to be a huge deal in Georgia. Brian Kemp is a very popular governor but doesn’t have a great relationship with Herschel walker. Obviously, we know that Donald Trump and Kemp had a bit of a fight and Herschel Walker was Donald Trump’s candidate. And in the primary, when Brian Kemp was facing a challenger, Herschel Walker didn’t do anything to help him and Brian Kemp remembers that.

While Herschel Walker was struggling throughout this general election to get to that 50%, Brian Kemp didn’t do anything to lift a finger for him. I will be curious to see whether the Kemp apparatus, popular in Georgia, comes out to try to save Herschel Walker at this point.

I have to think just the two of them head to head with so much at stake and a lot of frankly momentum for Democrats right now that the runoff is going to favor Warnock. We saw this two years ago, and we saw a lot of Democratic energy come in and steal away a Republican seat in the deep south, so if I’m the Walker campaign, I’m nervous going into a runoff.

If Democrats retain the Senate seat in Nevada, which they are favored to do by Nevada experts, and Sen. Mark Kelly keeps his seat in Arizona, the Georgia race becomes irrelevant.

Walker will have no chance against Warnock if control of the Senate is not on the line. Walker ran 5 points behind Gov. Kemp on election day, as it was clear that Republicans were motivated to come out to support Kemp, not Walker.

It is difficult to see Republicans showing up for Herschel Walker without the Senate majority being at stake.

Sen. Warnock and the Democrats have the momentum. They have won runoffs in Georgia before, and without Kemp, Walker may have no chance.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association