ATHENS, Georgia — Herschel Walker is new to the political “October surprise,” but like past challenges he has faced, he is charging forward in his Senate race undaunted by recent media attacks.
Walker spoke with Breitbart News in a wide-ranging interview Saturday, just after a week-long fusillade of reports were published about his personal life and right before his alma mater was set to play a rivalry home game about two hours up the road from his home in Atlanta.
“I never heard of whatever they call ‘October surprises,’ but whatever they’re doing now, as I always say, I move forward,” Walker said.
Walker, a former University of Georgia football star and NFL player, was hit with a string of negative press that began last Monday with a Daily Beast story about a woman claiming Walker paid for her abortion in 2009.
Walker, who is adamantly pro-life, called the claim a “flat-out lie,” but the story nevertheless set off a firestorm. His 23-year-old son went on an online tirade denouncing his candidacy, and the abortion accuser, who is also the mother of another one of Walker’s sons, gave more ammo in the form of text messages and other documentation to left-wing outlets that would serve to drag Walker down about his past.
“Continuing to talk about something of yesterday or trying to bring up something of yesterday … I think it can make things very difficult. I think they’re trying to muddy up the water somewhat, so I think the water is trying to get muddied up some,” Walker said.
Walker’s football fanbase appears unwavering, regardless of where he stands politically. Although he left the game 25 years ago, the Heisman Trophy winner appears to generate widespread enthusiasm among football fans in Georgia, where Bulldogs reign supreme and the sport is frequently described as “religion.” And although Walker left the school just shy of graduating, he later endowed a scholarship there that remains active today and goes toward one football player annually, a school official confirmed.
In Athens, many students and alumni wearing jerseys with the number 34, Walker’s retired number, peppered the densely packed college town ahead of the school’s game against Auburn.
Georgia running back Herschel Walker, #34, is seen in action, 1982. (AP Photo)
Chance, a University of Georgia senior, was one of them. Asked if he planned to vote for Walker, Chance replied, “I already did.”
“It’s Herschel Walker. He supports a lot of what I like,” Chance reasoned.
Nick, 18, said, “I do a lot of reading, and, yeah, he’s clearly got some problems, but as long as he knows what to vote yes or no on.”
Walker has long been a mental health advocate and openly speaks about his struggle to overcome his dissociative identity disorder diagnosis, which occurred in the aftermath of his football career.
Another young man in Athens wearing a 34 jersey, who said he was a registered Democrat from Atlanta, said he liked Walker as an athlete “but not as a politician.”
Walker said he is confident the latest slate of news about him would not deter voters, who he believes have lost trust in the media.
“I don’t really read a lot of the articles, but when I’m talking to people that’s out in Georgia, they never talk about what they’ve been reading in the paper because I think right now everyone’s been so — I don’t want to put anyone down in the media — but they’ve been so down on the media because they’re not sure they can trust what is real and what’s not real,” Walker said.
Polls show Walker is currently in a dead heat against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in one of the country’s top midterm races. Walker contended that “the left is sort of scared” at the prospect of Warnock’s seat flipping.
“Right now, the left is sort of scared because the people are going to vote for me because they know I care,” Walker said. “So they’re trying to do everything they can to turn the people against me, but I think the people know who I am. I do what I say, and I say what I do.”
Having experienced a humble upbringing in Wrightsville, where roughly 2,100 people live, and having a resume that is far from that of the typical politician, Walker noted he is “confused at some of the stuff that’s out there.”
“And I’m not just joking about it,” Walker said. “I’m totally confused because no one’s gonna really write the true story and want to hear what the true story is. So that’s the reason I’m saying I’m moving forward, because I’m representing the people of Georgia, and the Georgia voters are looking for someone that’s gonna go to Washington and do the right thing by them.”
Write to Ashley Oliver at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.
