National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chairman Rick Scott of Florida and Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton appeared at a rally on Tuesday alongside embattled Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker.
Walker, who is running neck-and-neck with incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, reportedly pressured a girlfriend into having two abortions. Although she went through with the first abortion, she later carried a second pregnancy to term and is the mother of one of Walker’s four children, according to the Daily Beast. Walker has denied the reports, and prominent Republicans are standing behind him.
“Herschel Walker is going to help build a Republican majority in the United States Senate,” Cotton said. “Herschel Walker will be a leader in the Senate, just like he’s been a leader in sports and in business for the state of Georgia, unlike your current U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock.”
Not surprisingly, Cotton leans into the argument that a vote for Walker is a vote against Joe Biden.
“I would accuse them of spending money like drunken sailors, but that would be an insult to drunken sailors.” #gapol #gasen pic.twitter.com/ei4PnYMvOD
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) October 11, 2022
Warnock “votes with Joe Biden 96% of the time,” Cotton continued. “And look at what that’s gotten us. Record-high inflation. Thirteen percent since Raphael Warnock got to Washington and started rubber-stamping Joe Biden’s agenda.”
The Arkansas senator and likely 2024 presidential contender has campaigned for Republican challengers in several key House and Senate races. He appeared with Colorado Senate nominee Joe O’Dea in late September, and Iowa House nominee Zach Nunn in July. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Tom Cotton Addresses Rumors Of 2024 Presidential Run)
“You can’t turn on the news today without seeing more crimes across this state, again, because Raphael Warnock votes with the Democrats 96% of the time. Because he has more sympathy for criminals than he does for their victims, and certainly than he does for the police who work to keep our people free and safe. Herschel Walker, by contrast, will always back the blue and crack down on criminals,” Cotton added.
Cotton appeared to gesture at the abortion reports, saying that people “are tired of television ads, and the lies they tell about Herschel Walker.” He encouraged attendees to promote the candidate to “friends,” “family,” and, “coworkers.”
“They’ll do whatever it takes, say whatever they have to say, because they want this seat right here,” Walker said, also obliquely referencing the allegations. “But I don’t think they know that they woke up a bear. I’m not just a dog now, I’m a bear. So they got to bring more than that.”
Warnock leads Walker by more than five points in the RealClearPolitics average. One poll, conducted shortly after the first Daily Beast report alleging the abortion payment, found Warnock leading by as many as 12 points.