Essential Politics: How Christian Walker set the Georgia Senate race on fire

WASHINGTON —  I have long been fascinated by Christian Walker.

I first learned of Walker’s existence during the 2020 presidential election, when he would go viral on TikTok and Instagram for dunking on liberals and Black Lives Matter while ordering Starbucks. His tirades were not dissimilar from those of other conservative provocateurs — except he has a charisma most of them lack.

Christian’s content enraged his viewers so much that they would engage with him, some praising him for his poignant critiques of liberals and others bashing him for being mean. One viewer went so far as to make a slew of videos mocking Walker and his persona.

After then-President Trump lost his bid for reelection, I noticed Walker’s public persona soften. He was still unabashedly conservative but he began to emphasize videos about the toxic dating scene, absent fathers and “muscle men.” These less divisive videos are more palatable to vast swaths of the internet, helping Christian to establish himself as a “right-wing king” and enabling his online celebrity to expand.

But as Christian distanced himself from politics, his father Herschel leaned into it.

Trump tapped the former football star to face off against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia in November. Since Herschel’s political debut, he has made many public gaffes. Reporters dug into allegations that he had been violent against women partners. (He later said he was “accountable to whatever I’ve ever done” and claimed to have healed.) He was criticized for questioning evolution, a theory that’s near-universally accepted by scientists. He went so far as to call for a total abortion ban, a move many in his party deemed too extreme. (He also called for more funding to support single parents and adoption.)

So when a news outlet reported on Monday night that Herschel once paid for an abortion, many people were quick to call out his apparent hypocrisy. Though the former athlete denied the allegations, people were still upset. Chief among these critics was his son, Christian.

Christian used his platforms to chastise his father for his past violent behavior and for lying to the public. Christian’s comments could have far-reaching consequences for the candidate and the Republican Party, which is desperate to flip Warnock’s seat and regain control of the Senate.

Hello friends, I’m Erin B. Logan. I cover national politics and the White House for the Los Angeles Times. Today, we are going to discuss the state of the very messy Senate race in my home state, Georgia.

What’s going on in the Peach State?

On Monday night, the Daily Beast revealed that Herschel had previously paid for a former girlfriend to terminate her pregnancy. Herschel has long described himself as vehemently antiabortion and called for a ban with no exceptions, even for pregnancies resulting from incest or rape. The allegation that he paid for a woman to obtain a procedure he wants outlawed was unexpected.

Herschel called the story a “flat-out lie” and said he would sue the Daily Beast for defamation. Herschel’s swift denial was unsurprising. His son’s response, however, was. Although Christian has stumped for his father at least once, he blasted Herschel for going against his relative’s wishes by running for public office.

In a video, Christian said he only agreed to back his father in the early days of his campaign because he thought he would get ahead of his past and take accountability for it. “None of that happened,” Christian said. “Everything been a lie.”

Christian noted that many family members had urged Herschel “not to run for office, because we all knew (some of) his past.”

“He decided to give us the middle finger and air out all of his dirty laundry in public, while simultaneously lying about it,” Christian tweeted. “I’m done.”

“You’re not a “family man” when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence,” he tweeted. “I don’t care about someone who has a bad past and takes accountability. But how DARE YOU LIE and act as though you’re some ‘moral, Christian, upright man.’ You’ve lived a life of DESTROYING other peoples lives.”

Christian did not respond to an email request for comment.

“I LOVE my son no matter what,” Herschel later tweeted.

National Republican Senate Committee Chairman Rick Scott said in a statement that “when the Democrats are losing, as they are right now, they lie and cheat and smear their opponents.”

“That’s what’s happening right now. They know they are on the verge of losing the Senate, and they know that Herschel Walker is winning, so they have cranked up the smear machine,” he added.

Warnock told reporters that he’ll “let the pundits decide how they think it will impact the race. But I have been consistent in my view that a patient’s room is too narrow and cramped for space for a woman and the government. My view on that has not changed.”

How might this impact the Senate race?

Long story short, many Georgia Republicans are openly pessimistic about their chances in November.

Prominent Georgia conservative radio host Erick Erickson tweeted that he believed Walker could beat Warnock “despite his baggage” but said that the events Monday nights events were “probably a KO.”

Polling indicates the race is competitive in a state that was until very recently a Republican stronghold.

“I’ll see what sort of response he mounts,” Erickson continued, “but given text messages tonight, Georgia GOP’ers are praying for Dr. Oz to win.”

The latest from the campaign trail

—In the 49th Congressional District — which could help determine which party controls the House — gas prices are a key consideration in the run-up to the election, according to interviews with voters and candidates, Times writer Seema Mehta reported. Though the district’s affluence cushioned some residents from high prices, the issue is part of a broader debate about the nation’s energy policy.

— In the race for Los Angeles County sheriff, retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna has a formidable 10-point lead among likely voters over the incumbent, Alex Villanueva, a new poll shows, Times writer Alene Tchekmedyian reported. With little more than a month until the Nov. 8 runoff election, 36% of likely voters polled said they are planning to cast ballots for Luna, while 26% said they favor Villanueva. Likely voters are those who have voted in a recent past election and who expressed a high interest in voting in November.

—California voters will decide this November who will lead a state agency that wields significant power over home, auto and other insurance policies, selecting between an incumbent Democrat embroiled in controversy and his novice Republican challenger, Times writer Melody Gutierrez reported. The state’s insurance commissioner regulates a $310-billion industry and is particularly influential in helping homeowners in wildfire-prone areas maintain their insurance. The regulator also has the power to approve or reject rate increases and investigate fraud.

—A day after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overruling Roe vs. Wade sent shockwaves through the country, Los Angeles mayoral candidate Rick Caruso took to Twitter to vehemently defend his support of abortion rights, Times writer Julia Wick reported. Caruso also vowed to financially support a proposal that Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state leaders had just announced, which would explicitly enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution through passage of a ballot measure. That was May 3. With just weeks until voters have their say on Proposition 1 and the Los Angeles mayor’s race, Caruso does not appear to have put any money toward the abortion rights proposition — drawing ire from his mayoral opponent, Rep. Karen Bass.

The view from Washington

—The Supreme Court opened its new term on Monday by hearing a property rights appeal that calls for limiting the government’s power to protect millions of acres of wetlands from development, Times writer David G. Savage reported. At issue is whether the Clean Water Act forbids polluting wetlands and marshes that are near — but not strictly part of — waterways. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson in her first day on the bench led the way in questioning why the court should move to limit the protection of wetlands. She said Congress in 1977 said wetlands that are “adjacent” to rivers and bays should be protected.

—A senior aide to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will be appointed the first U.S. State Department special envoy for linking local governments to national foreign policy, Times writer Tracy Wilkinson reported. Sources told The Times that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is expected Monday to name Nina Hachigian as the country’s first special representative for subnational diplomacy. She has served as the Los Angeles deputy mayor for international affairs under Garcetti since 2017. Before that she was a State Department diplomat assigned to the leading Asian alliance, the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

—The rapid and disorganized exit from Afghanistan a year ago left many people in danger under Taliban rule, Times writer Andrea Castillo reported. Among them are interpreters like H.S., who refer to themselves as “blacklisted” and say they were unjustly barred from getting visas promised to Afghans who helped the U.S. Advocacy groups such as the International Refugee Assistance Project say thousands have been affected. The interpreters who spoke to The Times said their visa petitions were denied despite receiving positive reviews from their military supervisors. In most cases, the denials came after the interpreters were terminated by the private contracting companies that hired them.

—The Biden administration on Monday launched a weeklong courtship of three of Latin America’s newest leftist leaders in a bid to find pragmatic common ground — rather than ideological confrontation — on a host of issues, including immigration, drug trafficking and the widening influence of China, Times writer Tracy Wilkinson reported. Administration officials say they are confident they can retain healthy relationships with these countries, even as much of Latin America shifts further to the left. That is despite the glaring embarrassment suffered when Biden refused to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the Summit of the Americas in June, a major event meant to showcase hemispheric cooperation. Several countries boycotted in protest.

The view from California

—Pedestrians, take note: A new law decriminalizes safe jaywalking in California, Times writer Colleen Shalby reported. Newsom on Friday signed the “Freedom to Walk” bill sponsored by Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco). The law, which goes into effect on Jan. 1, comes years after activists have argued that jaywalking rules disproportionately affect marginalized and low-income residents. Under the new law, pedestrians would be able to legally cross the street outside of designated intersections without the threat of a hefty citation “unless a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of collision with a moving vehicle or other device moving exclusively by human power.”

—It is rare for a California governor to be on the opposite side of his state party on a major public policy issue. And on Proposition 30, Newsom is not just taking sides against the Democratic Party, but also opposing his core political base: environmentalists and much of organized labor, including firefighters. Conversely, Newsom is aligned with the enemy — the California Republican Party — plus the state Chamber of Commerce and the California Taxpayers Assn. But Newsom has the issue right, Times columnist George Skelton argued.

—California is getting another reminder of the volatility of its energy supply as shutdowns at several oil refineries have sent gas prices soaring, including to all-time highs Monday and Tuesday in Los Angeles, Times writer Grace Toohey reported. At least five plants have recently faced maintenance-related stoppages or slowdowns, limiting supplies of California’s special blend of gasoline mandated to reduce pollution. While Newsom responded last week to the drastic increases in fuel costs by jump-starting the state’s shift to its cheaper, winter-blend gasoline, energy experts say it could still be weeks until drivers get some real relief at the pump.

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