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Scandal Upends Georgia Senate Race

A hard-fought election became even more contentious when media reports alleged that Republican senate candidate Herschel Walker had paid for a former girlfriend’s abortion. Walker, who is running on a strict anti-abortion platform, is trying to recapture the senate seat for the GOP.

Both parties have a significant stake in the outcome of the Georgia senate race as control of congress hangs in the balance. Public opinion polls have shown an extremely tight race with small leads by Senator Warnock that might require a runoff to determine the victor. 

Why was Herschel Walker nominated even though he has no political experience?

INSTRUCTORS: click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.

Videos:

News Articles:

Woman tells New York Times Herschel Walker asked her to have second abortion

CNN

10/7/22

https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/07/politics/herschel-walker-second-abortion-allegation-georgia/index.html

Will Herschel Walker’s Abortion Controversy Hurt His Chances In Georgia?

Fivethirtyeight

10/4/22

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/herschel-walker-scandal/

Texts show family strife between Herschel Walker’s wife and woman who alleged he paid for her abortion

NBC News

10/7/22

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/texts-show-family-strife-herschel-walkers-wife-woman-alleged-paid-abor-rcna51279

The pastor v the football player: can Raphael Warnock tackle Herschel Walker?

The Guardian

10/6/22

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/06/raphael-warnock-herschel-walker-abortion-georgia-senate-midterm

News Articles (Analyses):

Abortion bombshell rocks Georgia Senate race. Neither candidate wants to discuss it.

NBC News

10/7/22

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/abortion-bombshell-rocks-georgia-senate-race-neither-candidate-wants-d-rcna51127

Georgia Republican says Herschel Walker became the GOP’s Senate pick because he was a ‘famous football player’ backed by Trump: ‘We didn’t ask who was the best leader’

Business Insider

10/6/22

https://www.businessinsider.com/georgia-republican-slams-herschel-walker-2022-10

Stacey Abrams raises $8 million more than Brian Kemp in Georgia race

Axios

10/7/22

https://www.axios.com/2022/10/07/stacey-abrams-raised-8-million-more-than-brian-kemp-last-quarter

Brad Raffensperger could be the top Georgia Republican in November

Axios

10/7/22

https://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/10/07/brad-raffensperger-could-be-the-top-georgia-republican-in-november

Assessment:

Writing: Explain why some experts believe that the current abortion scandal will have little effect on Herschel Walker’s standing with Republican voters in Georgia. How has Walker tried to deflect the damage from the story?

Debate: Should political candidates who have personal experience with abortion abstain from taking public positions on abortion?

Poll: Should Herschel Walker drop out of the Georgia senate race?

Short Answer: Why do many experts predict that Brad Raffensperger will be the most successful Republican in the November election?

QUIZ:

Which high profile Republican announced that he would not be voting for Herschel Walker?

  1. Governor Brian Kemp
  2. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
  3. Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan
  4. Representative Doug Collins

Who released a strongly worded video condemning Herschel Walker?

  1. former University of Georgia coach Vince Dooley
  2. Walker’s son Christian
  3. former President Trump
  4. former President Carter

How has Governor Brian Kemp remained in such a position of strength in a rapidly changing state and surviving a Trump-backed primary challenge?

  1. focusing on the growing Georgia economy
  2. speaking about abortion at every opportunity
  3. pushing for more open voting laws
  4. pushing for strict gun laws

The runoff period for federal office in which no candidate achieves a majority was shortened to four weeks by the Georgia legislature in 2021. (T/F)

Senator Warnock is running for reelection in 2022, because he is filling the remainder of former U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson’s term. (T/F)

Herschel Walker resided in Texas before he moved back to Georgia to pursue political office. (T/F)

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