Obama slams Herschel Walker, tells voters they can’t get complacent
The former President Barack Obama warned Georgia voters Thursday night to not get complacent in the runoff between Sen. Raphael Warnock, the incumbent, and Herschel Walker the GOP challenger. He said that Democrats cannot lose because the stakes are too high.
He told the cheering crowd that he was here to tell them they couldn’t tune out. “We must run through the tape. I know you can do that because you have done it before.”
Obama made these comments just before Tuesday’s early voting deadline, which saw the final day of early voting. This contest pits Ebenezer Baptist Church’s senior pastor against a Georgia football icon.
Runoff elections are won often by the candidate who rallies the most supporters to vote. Atlanta Democrats called upon their star player to complete the task.
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Obama energizedly stated, “You have the power of determining the course for this country.” “If Georgian voters had stayed home two-years ago, Republicans would still control the Senate and would have blocked every piece of legislation President Biden or Democrats had passed.”
Thursday marked Obama’s second visit to Georgia in this election cycle. He is widely considered the Democratic Party’s go-to surrogate and is a key player in tight races. He was able to harness his popularity in battleground states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa and Nevada and Arizona and helped bring home impressive wins in the midterm election. His party hopes he can repeat the feat in Georgia.
Walker and Warnock did not have enough votes to win the general election. They were forced to go to a second round. Voters have already cast over 1.4 million votes.
The Democratic Party places a high priority on grassroots organizing, while still relying on celebrity power to motivate its base. Michelle Obama, the former first lady, taped two robocalls for Warnock while Tessa Thompson and America Ferrera hosted an event for Latino voters. Because of the fear that high inflation and unpopular policy may influence voters against Warnock, the party is strategically keeping President Joe Biden out.
Walker’s campaign is also keeping Donald Trump away and opting to lean on Georgia Governor and other popular Republicans. Brian Kemp, who was on Walker’s campaign trail with him and made a commercial for him.
A win by Warnock is critical for Democrats in the Senate. This would give them a majority that would allow Biden to pass his legislative agenda, even though Republicans will be taking control of the House in January.
While Obama and Warnock spoke of the importance to vote, Walker was also mocked in Atlanta. Walker has made headline-grabbing remarks. He claimed to have the cure for COVID-19, but he didn’t. Walker also questioned evolution (wondering how apes can still exist) and believed there were 52 US states. He was corrected and said that there should be and maybe one day would be 52 states.
Walker’s comments went viral again after he spoke out about vampires, werewolves, and other topics. He told people at a rally that he once wanted to become a vampire but now considers the possibility more carefully and decides he would prefer to be a werewolf.
He has also been attacked in an ad against him, which captured the reactions of voters to his thoughts.
Obama also participated.
Obama laughed and said, “Since my last visit, Mr. Walker had been discussing issues that are very important to the people in Georgia, such as whether it’s better being a vampire than a werewolf.” “This is a discussion I had when I was 7. Then, I grew up. If you were wondering, Mr. Walker declared that he wanted to become a werewolf. He can be whatever he wants, except a senator from the United States.