After a campaign marked by controversy around abortion and bizarre comments that turned into viral videos, Herschel Walker, Georgia’s GOP Senate nominee, is trying to keep a low profile ahead of the runoff elections next week against Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat.
The strategy includes avoiding answering media questions and keeping away from contentious topics. Recent reports and political observers noted his silence about former president Donald Trump‘s dinner offered to Kanye West and white supremacist Nick Fuentes.
Walker’s campaign has even reached an agreement with Trump’s team asking the former president to keep a healthy distance from the Senate nominee, even though Trump formally endorsed Walker.
The agreement involves Trump not holding rallies in favor of Walker — as he did in the primaries.
Walker, a former college football star, has had a turbulent campaign. In October, two women accused him of pressuring them to get abortions, contradicting his position as a conservative pro-life politician. He denied their accounts.
The Republican nominee also experienced several embarrassing moments that were widely mocked by his Democrat opponent, including rambling speeches about vampires and werewolves and an awkward attempt to exaggerate his role in law enforcement by flashing an honorary sheriff badge during the only televised debate against Warnock.
Walker and Warnock are in a close race, with some polls indicating the Democrat with a slight lead.
In November, Warnock finished ahead of Walker but a runoff was triggered because neither candidate reached a minimum of 50 percent of the votes. The runoff election is scheduled for Dec. 6 and the early in-person voting started last week.
