Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Fresh off a decisive primary win, Herschel Walker said the general election campaign ahead was about to get a lot harder.
“And that’s the way I like it,” Walker told a crowd of supporters at the Georgian Terrace Hotel.
“I’m prepared to take the hits,” he said. “The harder they come, the harder I’ll fight.”
The Republican’s win in a six-candidate race sets up a showdown in November against Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who faced nominal opposition in winning his own primary Tuesday.
Walker, who usually speaks in freewheeling style about his own life story, read from a teleprompter Tuesday night, previewing a polished new speech. It focused on the regular Georgians he would help if elected.
“Their American dream is becoming a nightmare,” he said.
And he said Georgia would again play a key role in the nation’s political fate, as it did in the 2020 election cycle when Democrat Joe Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump and Warnock and Jon Ossoff swept the U.S. Senate runoffs, determining control of the chamber.
“The road to defeating the Biden agenda runs through Georgia,” he said.
Walker’s win seemed effortless. But the night was not without its glitches. When Trump called in to support his old friend, the crowd first heard a loud dial tone over the sound system. Walker and his wife, Julie, stood awkwardly on the stage as aides tried to connect the call. A few minutes later Trump made it through.
“What a long distance you’ve come. Congratulations Herschel,” Trump said.
Walker began his remarks with a prayer for victims of Tuesday’s school shooting in Texas.
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