Herschel Walker, a Republican candidate running for Georgia Senate, has allegedly paid for a former partners’ abortion procedure, causing an issue within his campaign. An anonymous woman claims that Walker sent $700 towards her procedure, but he has denied that the check was meant for that purpose. 

While Walker acknowledged that it was in fact his signature on the check, he has “no idea what that could be for”. The woman claims that he ended their relationship after she refused to follow through with the procedure for the second time, despite his views that he has voiced during his campaign.

This has raised controversy against Walker because he openly disagrees with abortion in all cases, with absolutely no exceptions for rape, incest, or other factors. Earlier this week, he made a claim saying that he never did say that there were “no exceptions,” but this was proven untrue with video footage released on CNN. 

This is the second time that Walker has been caught denying a claim that can be backed up with video footage. He has answered many questions about the topic, and now wants his campaign focus to be on “moving forward.” Abortion has become a large topic of conversation in the US after Roe v Wade was overturned, which eliminated protections for abortion rights. 

Walker has been caught lying during his campaign many times, about things such as graduating from the University of Georgia. However, more recently, he has been caught lying about his background in law enforcement. During a Georgia Senate debate against Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock, Walker flashed a deputy sheriff’s badge after being accused of pretending to be a police officer. The debate had a strict policy about using props. 

Walker defended his status, saying “That is a legit badge. I carry it with me all the time. It’s a real badge. It’s not a fake badge…. If anything happened in this county, I have the right to work with the police in getting things done.” 

Despite how Walker has been criticized and mocked for his actions, he is using this controversy to promote his image within the campaign, which has ordered over 1,000 fake plastic badges with the phrase “I’m with Herschel.” Walker plans to hand them out at a crime-themed event. He is endorsed by sheriffs around the state, and was given honorary badges because of his actions. 

Walker claims that he received the badge from a Sheriff in Georgia, and also has badges from counties all around the state.  Walker was also accused of domestic violence, causing further questions as to how fit he is for the badge. 

Final results for the Georgia election will be tallied on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.