Herschel Walker, Sen. Raphael Warnock squabble over debates in Georgia Senate race

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After battling all summer long over the debate schedule in Georgia’s high-profile and crucial Senate showdown, it appears Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker may be closer to facing off on stage together next month.

After Warnock on Wednesday said that he would take part in a debate Walker has agreed to attend in Savannah, Georgia, the GOP nominee responded that he is ready to "lock down" the date. The debate, proposed by Nexstar Media Group, would be televised on Fox 5 Atlanta and other local TV stations across Georgia and in neighboring states on Oct. 14.

While Walker, a former college and pro football star, businessman and first-time politician, appeared to agree to one of Warnock’s conditions — that the topics for the debate would not be provided ahead of the face-off — his campaign did not respond to the senator’s other condition — that Walker also commit to take part in a second debate that Warnock previously accepted.

Warnock, the senior pastor at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church where Martin Luther King Jr. used to preach, defeated GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler by a razor-thin margin to capture the seat in January 2021 runoff election, prompting Republicans to see his seat as very vulnerable in his re-election bid for a full six-year term. The race in the key general election battleground state of Georgia is one of a handful across the country that may determine if the GOP wins back the Senate majority in November’s midterms. 

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Georgia GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker and Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (Republican National Convention/Handout via REUTERS | Tom Williams/Pool via REUTERS)

While Republicans continue to target Warnock, he has dramatically out-raised Walker to date, holding a slight edge over his GOP challenger in the latest public opinion surveys.

Walker, who won a Heisman Trophy and helped steer the University of Georgia to a college football national championship four decades ago, jumped into the GOP race to face off against Warnock a year ago, after months of support and encouragement to run for the Senate by former President Trump, his longtime friend. Thanks to his legendary status among many in Georgia and his immense, favorable name recognition in the Peach State, he easily captured the Republican nomination in May over a handful of lesser-known rivals. During the primary campaign, Walker did not take part in the GOP debates, saying he was laser focused on taking on Warnock.

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Following the primary, Walker immediately took incoming fire from the Warnock campaign and allied Democratic groups over what they called his numerous "bizarre or false statements" and characterizing him as unqualified to serve in the Senate. He has also been targeted over numerous reports that he overinflated the success of his businesses and academic record and has been playing defense regarding a number of personal controversies — from allegations of past abuse and threats against his first wife to acknowledging children he fathered out of wedlock that he had not previously publicly mentioned, despite criticizing absent fathers for decades.

Three months ago, Warnock committed to attending an Oct. 16 debate hosted by the Atlanta Press Club, as well as two others later in October that are scheduled to be held in Macon and Savannah. Warnock’s campaign criticized Walker for not agreeing to take part in those three debates, including running an ad that accused the Republican challenger of "dodging" debates.

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A month ago, Walker announced in an interview on Fox News’ "Hannity" that he had agreed to take part the Oct. 14 debate in Savannah in front of a live audience. "Senator Warnock. Nexstar Media Group offered to host a debate for us in Savannah on Oct. 14 in front of the people. Don’t Be Scared!," Walker said in a video at the time, which was shared first with Fox News.

Fast-forward to Wednesday morning and Warnock took to Twitter to say, "tell you what Herschel Walker, how about this: I’ll agree to your debate if you also agree to either of the debates in Atlanta or Macon. You can pick which one. No topics provided ahead of time. I’m ready. Are you?"

Warnock’s campaign went up with an ad this week arguing that Walker needs to, "quit the games. Agree to debates. Show us if you’re really ready to represent Georgia."

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The spot also accused Walker of saying "he needs to be given the topics ahead of time" to debate. And Warnock campaign manager Quintin Fulks emphasized that "the job of a U.S. senator isn’t one where you know the topics ahead of time or get a cheat sheet, and Herschel Walker shouldn’t need one to find the courage to walk on a debate stage."

However, Walker’s campaign reiterated to Fox News that they have never insisted that knowing the topics of the debate was a prerequisite for attending.

Walker, taking to Twitter Wednesday morning, said "Let’s lock down Savannah Oct 14th, Senator. I don’t care what the topics are. It’s a fair debate. Open to the public. Televised statewide. And it’s not run by your donors. You in? Let’s do this for the people."

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The Nexstar invitation to their debate noted that "topics will be provided to the campaigns prior to the broadcast, but specific questions will not." Giving the candidates advance knowledge of the debate topics is a standard procedure for many of Nexstar’s political debates but is not a common practice in other media debates.