He’s avoided telling Georgians his stances on many of the divides that could shape the race against U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock next year — or that could distinguish himself from his Republican rivals in the contest.

He hasn’t given specifics on his views on issues such as gun rights, tax policy or military aid. His campaign website is devoid of even trite commentary on key issues. And the few policy statements he’s issued seem aimed at avoiding stoking partisan divides.

“I don’t care whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, I’m here to represent you. Because everything that the Democrats want, I guarantee it is what I want,” he told Fox News host Sean Hannity. “We want law and order. We want border control. We want the prices to go down.”

Credit: undefined

Credit: undefined

Indeed, in the opening weeks of the campaign, Walker is placing a bet that his celebrity appeal, campaign bank account and tight relationship with Trump have given him the flexibility to avoid the base-pleasing issues that typically dominate a Republican primary.

The sharpest example of this campaign approach might be Walker’s position on illegal immigration, an issue that has long been uniquely energizing to state Republicans.

While other Republican Senate candidates back new crackdowns on unauthorized immigrants, Walker has stood by past statements in support of a pathway to citizenship for the millions of people in the U.S. illegally.

“He’s trying to take the high road,” said Martha Zoller, a conservative commentator and former congressional candidate. “It’s the right tact because he needs to separate himself from the negativity.”

Democrats say Walker’s strategy is just a smokescreen. Minutes after he gave his speech at Trump’s rally, for instance, he posed for a picture with Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in front of an “Impeach Biden” sign.

And they point to a long pattern of divisive statements from Walker, including a history of promoting false conspiracies about the 2020 election and a tweet that called for Trump and his allies to conduct a “total cleansing” two days before the Jan. 6 insurrection.

Still, Walker’s more recent statements are surprising in an era of polarized politics, not the least to supporters who expect a version of Trump’s fire-and-brimstone fury and instead get more tepid talk of broadening the party’s appeal.

“Herschel needs to do what he does, which is take the ball and run — run over everyone who gets in his way,” said David Davidson, a Macon Republican who attended an early Walker event.

‘He can get away with it’

It’s an approach Walker’s allies hope will pay off in a November 2022 contest against Warnock.

Trump lost last year’s election in part because he alienated moderate voters who once aligned with the GOP. And Republicans were swept in the Senate runoffs despite relentless attempts by both incumbents to placate the former president by endorsing his lies about widespread election fraud.

Walker, too, has echoed Trump’s false claims about his defeat. But he also has been unafraid to critique the former president. Asked on Fox News Radio about Trump’s prediction that Republicans would boycott the next two elections, Walker said it’s “not the right message.”

“President Trump, I’m very honored that he endorsed me because he knows I’m the right man for the job. But he also knows Herschel Walker is going to do it Herschel Walker’s way,” the candidate said, adding: “This is not Donald Trump running for it, it’s Herschel Walker running for it.”

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Multiple people close to both Republicans say the two men talk regularly and that Walker routinely delivers a similar message directly to the former president. He might have more leverage to take that tack because, unlike many other GOP politicians with Trump’s blessing, the two have a close relationship that dates to the 1980s.

“He’s in the enviable position where he doesn’t have to worry about winning the base,” said Leo Smith, the state GOP’s former minority engagement director. “He’s been willing to go against the tide of the Trump-lican rhetoric. And he might be one of the only candidates who has a strong enough bond with Trump that he can get away with it.”

When Walker does invoke Trump, it’s generally in glowing terms. He talks of the former president as a “fighter” and blasts Democrats for seeking to “erase” his achievements.

Walker told one interviewer that when the situation is dire, “I guarantee you (Trump’s) the one you want to be at the handle — he’s the one you want to be in control.”

But he doesn’t feel the need to remind audiences of his ties to Trump. His most recent ad, released earlier this week, features footage of Walker at Trump’s September rally in Perry — but not a single image of the former president or mention of the word “Republican.”

‘A boiled peanut’

Walker’s attempt to look past the primary and toward the general election is not lost on his opponents.

The campaign of Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, his best-known GOP rival, often asserts that Walker is running the “Biden in the basement strategy” to avoid probing questions on his policy stances, his past abstention from GOP politics or his history of violent behavior toward women.

Credit: File photo

Credit: File photo

“I don’t think Georgia Republicans are going to nominate a pro-amnesty candidate who didn’t vote for Trump in 2016 and never voted in a Republican primary until last year and, by the way, has a history of stalking and threatening women,” said Dan McLagan, Black’s spokesman.

He added: “If Herschel did somehow get the nomination, the press and the left would open him up like a boiled peanut.”

Democrats highlighted a controversy that embarrassed Walker’s campaign earlier this month to show he was no warm-and-fuzzy moderate.

The Walker campaign canceled a fundraiser in Texas that was to be hosted by a supporter who sported a swastika on her social media page after immense pressure from Jewish groups and other critics.

“Herschel might be able to run to the middle in a highlight reel, but not in Georgia in 2022,” said state Rep. Josh McLaurin, a Sandy Springs Democrat who flipped a Republican-controlled seat in the suburbs. “He won’t have the same blocking, at the very least.”

Some Republicans see an upside. Eric Tanenblatt has long been a voice for the establishment wing of the state Republican Party. So far, at least, he’s hopeful that Walker’s approach could open doors with some voters who have fled the GOP.

“If Herschel is looking at the long game, he’s not going to want to be branded the Trump candidate in a general election,” Tanenblatt said. “It’s interesting and encouraging to see a candidate who is not toeing the party line.”