CNN
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One of the closest and most contentious Senate races in the country could have its defining moment Friday night, as Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker, the football great turned politician, step on to the debate stage in Savannah.
It is the pair’s only scheduled one-on-one – Warnock has pushed for more – and it comes amid a controversy surrounding allegations that Walker, who supports a federal abortion ban without exceptions, paid for the abortion of a woman he was dating in 2009, and then urged her to terminate another pregnancy two years later.
Walker has denied the allegations and CNN has not independently verified the woman’s claims. But his campaign has been rattled by the story, which has now dominated the headlines for more than a week – and could complicate his path to victory if it lands poorly with the conservative-leaning suburban voters so crucial to any Georgia Republican’s political fate.
National Republicans, though, have doubled down on Walker’s campaign in recent days, which could be decisive in their efforts to win a Senate majority in a body that is currently split 50-50 between the parties with Democrats in control because of Vice President Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, the chair of the GOP Senate campaign arm, visited Georgia, along with Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, this week in a show of support for Walker.
Warnock, the senior pastor at Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, has been careful not to engage directly on Walker’s recent troubles, refusing to comment directly on them while trying to steer the focus onto aspects of his own political record he hopes will resonate with a broad swath of voters.
Source: CNN
