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“Election officials on Friday reported heavy turnout in Georgia on the last day of early voting ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff election that will determine whether Democrats can add to their razor-thin majority in the U.S. Senate. Voters in some locations faced waiting times of more than an hour to cast ballots in the contest between incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger, former football star Herschel Walker.” Reuters
Here’s our prior coverage of the Georgia Senate race. The Flip Side
The right urges Republicans to vote for Walker.
“Mr. Walker’s appeal is greatest when he shifts attention from himself and puts the focus on conservative values. That’s what he did at a Monday rally in Forsyth County, a GOP stronghold northeast of Atlanta where he’ll need to run up the score. He attacked Mr. Warnock on crime for ‘talking about releasing people out of prison’ and on his opponent’s 2011 quip that ‘nobody can serve God and the military.’… There’s still a big audience in Atlanta’s suburbs for a robust brand of conservative values.”
Mene Ukueberuwa, Wall Street Journal
“Listen to [Walker’s] speeches, and you will hear a few simple, solid Republican positions. He wants to restore American energy independence. He wants to reduce federal spending. He is against wokeness. He is for religious liberty. He supports police. He wants greater funding for the military. He wants a less intrusive federal government. That is all mainstream Republicanism, if badly spoken. ‘I make common sense,’ Walker says…
“In the early 2000s, some Republicans defended the highly inarticulate President George W. Bush by saying something to the effect that, ‘He can't put a sentence together, but at least he knows right from wrong.’ That's important. And perhaps that is why many Georgia Republicans who are fully aware of Walker's limitations will vote for him anyway. They think he knows right from wrong, and they feel strongly that Democrats don't. Put it that way, and the choice for Republicans is easy.”
Byron York, Washington Examiner
Some argue, “Republicans should never have nominated Walker, and even after nominating him, they should have tried to find a way to provide voters with another choice. Still, with President Joe Biden trying to govern as an uncompromising leftist and at least 50 Democratic allies for him already in a 100-member Senate presided over by his extremist vice president, Kamala Harris, there is not much Walker can do to cause harm to the public weal. His vote and his behavior can’t momentously hurt public policy. Walker’s vote can, however, help block the worst of the Biden-Harris-Chuck Schumer excesses…
“Warnock will vote for every radical nominee Biden puts forward for the judiciary, the executive branch, or quasi-independent agencies. Walker won’t. With Walker’s vote, the Senate can still block the worst of the nominees if even one centrist Democrat, such as Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), decides Biden’s choice is just too much to stomach…
“Centrist and independent Georgians who want to keep the government from making life worse, even if they aren’t conservative, should want Walker, not Warnock, as their senator.”
Conn Carroll, Washington Examiner
The left praises Warnock and criticizes Walker.
The left praises Warnock and criticizes Walker.
“Warnock worked with [Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas] to craft an amendment [to the infrastructure bill for a new interstate highway] that stretches eastward all the way through Georgia…
“He worked with Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) on keeping down the cost of insulin… and with Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) on efforts to better safeguard maternal health… He joined with a Republican congressman from Georgia, Rep. Earl L. ‘Buddy’ Carter, to fight the Biden administration’s plans to shut down a training center at the Air National Guard Base in Warnock’s native Savannah…
“Warnock even worked with Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) — who has accused Democrats of being ‘pro-crime’ and referred to African Americans as ‘the people that do the crime’ — on a measure to help Georgia peanut farmers overcome tariff barriers erected by the European Union… He is a good, effective senator.”
Eugene Robinson, Washington Post
Regarding Walker, “It’s hard to imagine a more flawed candidate. In an interview with ABC News, his ex-wife alleged Walker threatened to kill her when they were married…
“On issue after issue, Walker has turned out to be a practitioner of the behaviors he condemns. He was a critic of absentee fathers, and then his son said he was never around. Instead of one child, it turns out he has at least four… [and] was ordered by a judge to pay child support starting in 2014… Then there is the abortion issue. Walker has said he would favor a complete ban on abortion with no exceptions. But at least two women have alleged that he pressured them to have abortions…
“In addition to a chaotic personal life, he has made false claims and exaggerated his academic and business accomplishments. And when it comes to policy, he offers incoherent word salads that leave people scratching their heads.”
Frida Ghitis, CNN
“Not surprisingly, Walker leads among White voters and Warnock with Black voters. This is what you’d expect in most closely divided states. But what might have floored a political analyst a mere eight years ago is the extent of the educational divide among White voters in Georgia. Walker was ahead 83% to 17% among White voters without a college degree. His lead shrunk to 51% to 47% among White voters with a college degree…
“Arguably the biggest reason Democrats are now competitive in Georgia elections is how much more Democratic college-educated White voters have become. The way Trump built coalitions (i.e., relying on non-college-educated White voters at the expense of college-educated White voters) is a large part of that.”
Harry Enten, CNN
