On the Georgia Trail: Warnock calls Walker ‘not fit’ for U.S. Senate

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock speaks to voters in Clarkston, Ga. on Thursday, November 3, 2022. (Natrice Miller/natrice.miller@ajc.com)

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock speaks to voters in Clarkston, Ga. on Thursday, November 3, 2022. (Natrice Miller/natrice.miller@ajc.com)

SNELLVILLE — Raphael Warnock leveled his strongest attack yet at his opponent, saying that Herschel Walker’s past treatment of women means the Republican is “not fit” to serve in the U.S. Senate.

Warnock spoke in highly personal terms as he met with reporters following a rally in Gwinnett County.

“I don’t take any pleasure in talking about these things,” Warnock said. “I’m a pastor and I have sat in my office with women who have been victimized by domestic violence. And I can’t ignore this.”

Walker’s ex-wife has said he held a gun to her head and choked her when they were married. Additionally, a woman who came forward recently to say that Walker pressured her to have an abortion said she felt “threatened” by the former football star.

“Not only is he not ready, he is not fit. And the people of Georgia deserve better,” Warnock said.

Warnock spoke to a crowd of about 100 supporters outside the Berean Church in Snellville as the campaign entered its final days.

Herschel Walker says ‘we got the C team in’

ATHENS — Top-ranked teams Georgia and Tennessee meet today in the biggest football game to be played in the 93-year history of Sanford Stadium.

And GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker is making the most of it.

The Heisman Trophy winner headlined a pre-game rally in downtown Athens. He was joined by Burt Jones, the GOP nominee for lieutenant governor who also played for the Bulldogs but frequently tells his audiences he was the shorter and slower of the two.

Each kept their remarks to a crowd of a few hundred people at the Classic Center short, mindful most were eager to tailgate ahead of the 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

”We have to have a red wave,” Jones said, exhorting the crowd to vote on Tuesday.

Walker reflected on the legacy of his coach, the late Vince Dooley, telling the crowd he always pressed for the team to unite.

”If we stay together we can get this thing worked out,” he said, shifting his attack to the Democrats. “But what’s happening now is we got the C team in.”

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Democrats pool star power to excite Georgians to head to the polls

“All eyes are on Georgia.”

That was the refrain during a Stacey Abrams rally held Saturday afternoon.

“Pop Out to the Polls,” held at The Eastern performance arena in the Reynoldstown neighborhood of Atlanta, felt half campaign rally and half concert, with performances from Atlanta hip-hop group EARTHGANG and headliner 2 Chainz book-ended by calls to action from national groups such as the American Federation of Teachers and down-ballot statewide candidates.

“Georgia is this country’s North Star,” said AFT Secretary-Treasurer Fedrick C. Ingram. “Because if we do it here, we can do it anywhere.”

Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement, echoed his sentiment.

“What happens in Georgia doesn’t just matter for what happens here,” she said. “All eyes are on you, Georgia. Thank you for leading the rest of the country. Thank you for showing the rest of the country what it looks like to protect democracy.”

Tina Knowles-Lawson, mother of singers Beyoncé and Solange, served as the mistress of ceremonies, telling the crowd that Abrams is “That Girl,” referencing one of the songs on Beyoncé’s latest album.

With a hoarse voice, Abrams shared the story of the first time her grandparents voted in Mississippi in 1968. Her grandmother told Abrams she was frozen in fear of the new power she was able to exercise.

“For years she had been told she wasn’t enough. For years the law said her citizenship wasn’t real,” Abrams said. “But what if they were wrong? ... What if the our votes that we cast could actually change the future? That’s a power that’s almost terrifying.”