Herschel Walker talks religion, Biden, at Smyrna rally

Nov. 5—SMYRNA — Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker spoke at a campaign rally in the parking lot of Adventure Outdoors Thursday evening, an outfitter whose sign advertises an indoor shooting range and an inventory of more than 10,000 guns.

The stakes are high in the race between Walker and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, as it could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Warnock's campaign has raised more than $101 million, more than double Walker's $37.7 million, but the race remains dead even, according to FiveThirtyEight's polling average as of Friday.

The Smyrna rally, attended by about 250 people, according to a Walker campaign staffer, had a consistent religious tone — it opened with multiple prayers, and Walker opened his speech by thanking Jesus Christ.

During the rally, Walker told two jokes in which someone dies and goes to heaven. In the first, Walker compared Warnock's campaign to a campaign run by Satan, with the devil promising one thing but delivering the usual torture and hellfire.

"I'm not that politician. I'm that warrior from God," Walker said.

Walker criticized Warnock's positions on policing and crime, LGBTQ issues, abortion and immigration. Like many Republican candidates this election season, he tied his opponent to President Joe Biden.

"You went to Washington saying you were gonna represent Georgia, but you decided to represent Joe Biden," Walker said of Warnock. "You went to Washington saying you were gonna represent the people, yet you voted with him 96% of the time. You went to Washington saying you were gonna represent the women, then you put men in women's sports."

Walker criticized Warnock's practice of his religion, saying that Warnock, who is the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church, would not support abortion if he read the same Bible as Walker does.

"His Bible says America needs to apologize for their whiteness. That's not written in my Bible," Walker said.

Other speakers at the rally included U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville; state Sen. Burt Jones, R-Jackson, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor; and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi. The speakers emphasized the importance of this election, encouraging attendees to vote early and bring a friend to vote.

Walker in his remarks steered clear of the recent controversies surrounding his personal life, such as allegations that he paid for two women's abortions, allegations of domestic violence, and criticisms his son Christian Walker has aired on social media. Walker has denied paying for abortions and deflected questions about domestic violence, saying he struggled with mental health and addressed those concerns in his memoir.

Linda Wanzer of Marietta attended the rally with her son Michael Tatum. Wanzer said she thinks Walker is honest about his past, and she appreciates that.

"We have all sinned and fell short of the glory of God. But every day is a brand new day and the past is the past," Wanzer said.

Wanzer and her son said they could not imagine a scenario in which they voted anything but Republican in this midterm.

Chris Rosh, owner of Amex Ammo based in Villa Rica, attended the rally with his friend Doug Alexander of Smyrna. Both indicated Walker was not their favorite out of the Republican primary field, but they said they fully support him as the party's candidate.

Both worried about the size of the government and how the current administration is handling inflation and the economy.

"Free enterprise is gone and socialism is in," Rosh said.

Attendees at the rally listed inflation, immigration, and crime as their top issues in this election. Emily, a receptionist from Smyrna who declined to share her last name, attended the rally with a friend from her church.

Emily said her faith plays a large role in her identity, and that she supports Walker because of his place on the Republican ticket and his approval from former President Donald Trump.

"I'm a Trump Republican. That's the kind of Republican I want in there," Emily said. "We changed our churches because they were too progressive."

Walker said that in his football days, his offensive linemen used to refer to the end zone as the promised land.

"So I'm gonna tell all of you: vote for me. We'll all get to the promised land," Walker said near the end of his speech.

Both Walker and Warnock have polled under 50% in the most recent polls.

If neither wins a majority of the vote on Nov. 8, the race will go to a runoff in December. A third candidate, Libertarian Chase Oliver, is also on the ballot.