A new advertisement from Raphael Warnock, Georgia’s incumbent Democratic senator, pushes the state’s Republican Senate nominee, Herschel Walker, to debate Mr. Warnock.
“Stop dodging. Commit to debates,” reads an onscreen message in the 30-second television spot, which began airing in Georgia’s top four media markets on Tuesday, juxtaposed against Mr. Walker’s recent comments about his openness to debating Mr. Warnock.
The ad is part of a weekslong saga between the two candidates: While Mr. Walker has repeatedly pledged to debate Mr. Warnock, his campaign has not accepted invitations to any of the three matchups scheduled for this fall. Mr. Warnock has committed to attending an Oct. 16 debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, in addition to two others in Macon and Savannah later that month; those dates have not yet been finalized.
During a news conference in Athens, Ga., last Wednesday, Mr. Walker told reporters that he would be “ready to go” for the Oct. 16 debate if the two campaigns “negotiate and we get everything right.”
His spokeswoman, Mallory Blount, later issued a statement saying that Mr. Walker’s campaign “doesn’t care about the old way of doing things” and that any debate it ultimately agreed to “must have a fair and equitable format and unbiased moderator.”
So what’s with this debate over debates? Walker skipped showdowns with fellow Republicans ahead of the May primary, confident that he would coast to victory. But long before he won the nomination, Walker repeatedly vowed he would debate Warnock.
When pressed by reporters, the former football star said time and again he was primed for a showdown against Warnock “any day of the week.” In June, he said “name the place and the time and we can get it on.”
The time and place have been named, according to the Democrat’s camp. Warnock weeks ago accepted debate invitations from WTOC in Savannah, Mercer University in Macon and the Atlanta Press Club.
Walker, however, still hasn’t confirmed any dates, and some GOP political observers don’t think he will. Instead, he has made a sport of moving the goalposts for the events, drawing attention away from other issues that have dogged his Senate bid.
Last week, for instance, Walker indicated he would participate in the Atlanta Press Club’s Oct. 16 debate. But his spokeswoman followed up saying Walker doesn’t care about the “old way” and that a debate must have a “fair and equitable format and unbiased moderator.”
And at a campaign stop later that day, Walker said he’s trying to figure out who made Warnock “the ruler of just giving dates.” That led to a rejoinder from the Atlanta Press Club, which said it picked the date to align with early voting and ensure Congress wasn’t in session.
Georgia’s top candidates, of course, have a recent history of gamesmanship with debates.
Gov. Brian Kemp backed out of a final debate with Stacey Abrams in 2018 after Donald Trump announced a rally for his campaign. (In this cycle, he’s agreed to two statewide debates with Abrams.)
And U.S. Sen. David Perdue famously no-showed the only debate in the 2021 runoff cycle, leaving his opponent Jon Ossoff to square off against an empty podium.
Walker should man up and agree to a debate because he needs to be pressed on this:
As the debate over abortion and the right to privacy continues, Herschel Walker, who is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, claims people aren’t concerned about abortion rights.
Speaking at an event for farmers in Georgia, he was asked if the abortion ban in Georgia would impact his election. “People aren’t concerned about that,” Walker said, according to the Gainesville Times.
“People are concerned about the gas, they’re concerned about food. They’re not even talking about that. That’s not what I’m hearing about.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Greg Bluestein followed up with, “You think people aren’t concerned about abortion?”
“Well, I didn’t say that,” Walker replied, even though it’s reported that he clearly did say that. “People here are concerned about gas, and I think they’re concerned about groceries. They’re concerned about the baby formula, which is something that’s very serious right now, and they’re concerned about crime.”
FYI:
People concerned about the cost of groceries and gas would absolutely be concerned about having another mouth to feed and butt to diaper. And actual research bears out this common-sense deduction: Not being able to afford a baby is one of the top reasons people have abortions. The typical abortion seeker in the U.S. is someone who already has kids and is living on a low income.
Republicans like Walker who want to hammer Biden on inflation but wave away conversations about abortion bans as if they’re not also kitchen table issues are missing the forest for the trees. When it comes to people’s spending power, abortion bans will make the experience of inflation even worse. If someone’s monthly gas, groceries, and rent have increased, that makes them even less able to afford caring for a baby.
Republican abortion bans make inflation worse. Abortion is, unequivocally, an economic issue. Democrats: Feel free to steal this messaging.
Health and Democracy are on the ballot and we need to be ready to keep Georgia Blue. Click below to donate and get involved with Warnock and his fellow Georgia Democrats campaigns:
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