An increasingly combative U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock amped up his attacks on opponent Herschel Walker on Wednesday, calling the Republican “a scary alternative” who is “not ready to be in the United States Senate.”
Warnock made the jabs at a rally with Latino voters in Atlanta where he was joined by Lin-Manuel Miranda. the award-winning creator of the smash musical “Hamilton.”
The event came on the same day a new poll showed Warnock trailing Walker among Hispanic voters. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Georgia News Collaborative poll gave Walker a 47% to 41% advantage over Warnock. An additional 11% of Hispanic voters said they back Libertarian Chase Oliver. The poll was conducted by the University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs and has a margin of error of 5.6 percentage points.
Both parties are battling to appeal to Latino voters, a small but fast-growing part of the state’s electorate.
Miranda revved up the crowd at the Georgia Beer Garden, reminding them of the critical role Georgia played in the 2020 election.
“You know, you hate to be the guy that quotes the lyric from the band, but ‘history has its eyes on you,’ ” he said, quoting a song from “Hamilton.”
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
When it was his turn, Warnock reflected that the patio where they were gathered was the same place he learned he had won the runoff in 2021.
The Democrat then ticked off the measures he has backed in the U.S. Senate to lower the costs of prescription drugs.
“And so the question for Herschel Walker is what would you have done? What is it that you proposed to do to bring the cost to hardworking Georgia families down?” he asked.
Walker has said he would have voted against the spending measure but has not specified what he would support.
The rally was part of a series of “Latinos for Warnock” events aimed at getting Hispanic voters out during early voting, which began Monday,
“There’s too much at stake; the issues are too urgent. The differences between me and the scary alternative are too wide to wait until Nov. 8. Don’t wait until Nov. 8,” Warnock said.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Mindful of his audience, Warnock also said it was time to get a comprehensive immigration bill passed.
“The fact that we haven’t done it yet is not a reflection of how complicated it is,” the senator said. “It is a reflection of how much division there is in our politics.
Walker’s talk of immigration has focused on problems along the southern border that he says have contributed to a spike in crime in the United States.
Luis Hernandez, 25, liked what he heard Wednesday from Warnock.
“He speaks to me and my generation, you know?” Hernandez said. “I feel like he gets it.”
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