Herschel Walker has a problem: Kemp’s not on the December ballot
Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walk has a Kemp problem. Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, won a huge victory in Tuesday’s midterms and will not be on the ballot for next month’s Senate race.
Walker should be able to address this issue by Kemp’s participation on Tuesday.
Kemp easily crossed the threshold of 50 percent in his reelection campaign against Stacey Abrams. Walker was just 48,000 votes behind Sen. Raphael Warnock, (D), but neither got above 50 percent.
Kemp defeated Walker by 210,000 votes. This left the GOP Senate candidate in the back of the eight ball going into the runoff.
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“Given this week’s events, he starts underdog,” stated one GOP operative who was involved in the midterms. He said Kemp’s absence was a major problem for Walker.
Kemp may not be on the ticket but he isn’t ruling the race.
Last week, the governor loaned his powerful political apparatus to Senate Leadership Fund, an organization run by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The deal between the two parties will see the governor temporarily give over his door-knocking and data analytics programs to the McConnell group. They will then bankroll the operation at a cost of more than $2 million.
“Governor Kemp created the playbook to win in Georgia and we are thrilled that we can partner with his top-notch staff to elect Herschel to the Senate,” Steven Law (the president of the Senate Leadership Fund) stated in a statement.
Kemp started the operation after the 2020 election partly because he believed that some loyalties to the state party were siding with former Sen. David Perdue, who Kemp ultimately defeated in a primary fight.
Runoffs, which are common in South, have tended to favor Republicans in Georgia for years.
However, that all changed in 2020 when Sen. Jon Ossoff (D), and Warnock defeated the former Sens. Kelly Loeffler and Perdue (R), respectively. Abrams’s turnout operation buoyed both Warnocks and Ossoff.
Republicans insist that the race is all about turnout as much as anything heading into the runoff.
Chuck Clay, a former GOP state senator from Georgia, stated that runoffs are about “ruthless and efficient targeting and then turning out the voters.” “Republicans have always been ahead in runoffs but Ossoff & Warnock changed the rules. I don’t think that this has changed the rules.
Clay said that Walker’s biggest problem is trying to turn out the rural base and cut into suburban Atlanta’s vote totals that gave the incumbent Democrat an advantage on Tuesday.
Clay stated that “it’s more about machinery than it is the issues.” “Getting your universe right. This is the key.
Another national GOP operative stated that the biggest challenge for Republicans will be winning suburbanites.
Walker received 210,000 less votes than Kemp. This clearly shows that Walker lost some suburban voters who voted in a Republican governor, but a Democratic senator from Warnock.
Walker representatives did not respond to our request for comment regarding Kemp’s impact.
The race’s other question is whether Trump and other high-wattage Republicans will be on the Walker trail in the coming weeks.
On Tuesday, the former president will announce a third bid for presidency. This could be a problem for Walker’s chances.
Clay replied, “I don’t know,” when Clay was asked if Trump would help Walker at this stage. “Georgia has been the outlier since the primary. Trump did everything possible to eliminate Brian Kemp and Perdue.
Clay said, “I don’t want to tell the GOP faithful that he cannot be effective.” Clay said, “I would find that universe very galvanized and I would target them a little under the radar.”
Clay said that he was unsure if a Florida Governor appearance would be beneficial. Ron DeSantis (R), would be a benefit to Walker at this stage.
Trump has made a series verbal attacks against DeSantis. He has not responded. Walker may be upset by DeSantis’ appearance, and Walker should turn out.
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