During the midterm elections, a pattern quickly emerged of former President Trump selecting candidates who failed to win general elections.
This happened in Michigan with gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon, in Pennsylvania with gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano and Senate candidate Mehmet Oz, along with in Arizona with gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
As a result of this, some pundits have been warning that the national electorate is tired of Trump and Trumpism. After all, Republicans who didn’t cozy up to Trump (such as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis) wound up winning their elections.
In Georgia, Trump handpicked and endorsed athlete Herschel Walker for the Senate. Though on Tuesday, Walker became yet another Trump-endorsed candidate to lose an election, as Breitbart News points out.
A Closer Look at Walker’s Election Loss
Walker was challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. As votes came in, Warnock’s sizable lead over Walker began to vanish. Though, in the end, the Georgia Democrat ended up defeating his challenger by close to one percent.
During Walker’s campaign for the Senate, there were a series of issues and controversies to emerge. Allegations of Walker being abusive and having children whom he didn’t take care of were made.
BREAKING NEWS: Sen. Raphael Warnock defeats Herschel Walker in the Georgia Senate Runoff Election
— PoliticsVerse 🇺🇸 (@PoliticsVerse) December 7, 2022
On top of that, Walker was accused of paying for ex-girlfriends of his to have abortions, despite him running on a very pro-life platform. The Georgia Republican denied all of these claims against him; however, one can argue they had a role in the ultimate outcome of the election.
The Trump Factor
It’s impossible to look at the Georgia runoff race without taking into account former President Trump.
During the Walker vs. Warnock race, the former president declared his candidacy in the 2024 White House race. Though Trump was advised by Republicans to hold off until after the runoff race for fear that such an announcement would energize Democratic turnout.
During the previous Georgia runoff race in 2021, Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler lost to Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. It was later found that 250K Georgia Republicans who voted in the 2020 election sat out the 2021 runoffs.
The Truth: Trump called my dad for months DEMANDING that he run. Everyone with a brain begged him: “PLEASE DON’T DO THIS. This is too dirty, you have an insane past… PLEASE DONT DO THIS.”
We got the middle finger. He ran.
— Christian Walker (@ChristianWalk1r) December 7, 2022
This major change has since been attributed to Trump’s allegations of a rigged and stolen election.
Since Warnock’s win this time around, pundits are now speculating this isn’t looking good for Trump or his political image. Already, the former president is taking heat over the recent conviction of his organization, his dinner with Holocaust deniers, and his demand to “terminate” the American Constitution.
With Walker having lost his election, Democrats will now hold 51 Senate seats.
What are your thoughts on the outcome of the Georgia runoff race between Republican Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock? You can share your perspective in the comments area.
