Georgia Senate Debate: Walker and Warnock Grapple in Georgia Over Abortion and the Economy (Published 2022) (2024)

Pinned

Walker barrels into the Georgia Senate debate and meets a controlled Warnock.

The first and probably only debate of the critical Senate race in Georgia, just three days before early voting begins in the state, was contentious and often messy, pitting a political novice, Mr. Walker, against the incumbent Democrat, Mr. Warnock, a seasoned public speaker who delivers sermons nearly every Sunday at the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Mr. Warnock, with a narrow and tenuous lead in the polls, was controlled and cautious, going on the attack only a few times and avoiding directly answering questions when doing so could alienate the moderate Republicans he has courted. Mr. Walker was aggressive and persistent, at times mocking his opponent’s dodges, often interrupting him and consistently going over his time limits, earning admonishments from the moderators.

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

Ken BensingerReporting on politics from Los Angeles

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

Ken BensingerReporting on politics from Los Angeles

With elections less than a month away, our reporters are across the country following candidates. Scandal roiled the Los Angeles City Council, Mitch McConnell affirmed his support for Herschel Walker, and Senate and governor candidates in Nevada sought endorsem*nts.

Here’s a look at the week in political news →

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

Ken BensingerReporting on politics from Los Angeles

Los Angeles was rocked by news that three City Council members took part in a secretly recorded conversation involving racist comments. Faced with swirling public condemnation, including from President Biden, the Council president, Nury Martinez, resigned, while the other two officials have so far stayed put.

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

Ken BensingerReporting on politics from Los Angeles

In the critical swing state of Nevada, the Democratic Senate incumbent, Catherine Cortez Masto, received an endorsem*nt from 14 family members of her Republican opponent, Adam Laxalt. In the governor’s race, the state’s largest teachers’ union announced that it wouldn’t endorse either candidate.

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

Ken BensingerReporting on politics from Los Angeles

Polling in Georgia found less support among female, Black and independent voters for Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate candidate. He trails Senator Raphael Warnock, but by just three points, within the margin of error. Senator Mitch McConnell said he’d “stick with Walker,” an anti-abortion candidate who has been accused of paying for an abortion.

4 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail

Ken BensingerReporting on politics from Los Angeles

Two Democratic groups said they would pour millions of dollars into local races in a half dozen states before the midterms in hopes of winning back legislatures. The groups, the States Project and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, are particularly focused on protecting voting and abortion rights.

Catch up on more political news.

• Republicans Struggle to Unite Party Around National Abortion Restrictions
• Walker Barrels Into Georgia Debate and Meets a Controlled Warnock

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Mr. Walker’s posture reflected his need for a strong performance after weeks of negative headlines, most prominently a former girlfriend’s statements that he paid for one abortion and urged her to end a second pregnancy, even though Mr. Walker is campaigning on his opposition to abortion.

Despite his troubles, the national Republican Party has stood by its candidate, sending in professional campaign reinforcements and debate coaching — and those moves seem to have paid off.

After campaigning far to the right, Mr. Walker reversed field on Friday, backtracking on some core elements of his platform. He had said for months that he wanted to end abortion without exceptions. On Friday, he said he supported the exceptions that Georgia’s Legislature included in its six-week abortion ban, for women whose pregnancies are considered futile or for medical emergencies and cases of rape or incest.

In December 2020, Mr. Walker said: “I can guarantee you, Joe Biden didn’t get 50 million people voting for him. But yet people think that he’s won this election.” On Friday night, he said Mr. Biden had won the election.

Mr. Warnock declined to say whether he thought Mr. Biden should run for re-election, saying: “You’re asking me who’s going to run in ’24? The people of Georgia get to decide who’s going to be their senator in three days.” He also embraced many of the policies the president has pushed, like student loan forgiveness.

At times, Mr. Walker tripped up on his language and policy details, including when he said he wanted Georgians to move away from government health care to the kind of insurance Mr. Warnock has — which is government-subsidized health care.

At one point, Mr. Walker also seemed to blame people with diabetes for their condition, saying during a discussion on insulin costs that while he believed in reducing the price of the drug, “at the same time, you got to eat right,” adding that “unless you’re eating right, insulin is doing you no good.”

But overall, Mr. Walker held his own after he and his campaign had assiduously tried to lower expectations ahead of the debate. A month beforehand, the candidate half-jokingly told reporters that he was “a country boy” and “not that smart.” Mr. Warnock, he said, was “going to show up and embarrass me.”

That did not happen, but Mr. Walker’s biggest task was to quell doubts about his qualifications for the office.

It is unclear if he succeeded. He continued his outright denial of the abortion claims by his former girlfriend. “I said that was a lie, and I’m not backing down,” he said.

In perhaps Mr. Warnock’s most combative move, he pivoted from a question about “defunding police” to Mr. Walker’s history of violent altercations and exaggerations of his résumé, including a claim that he had been in law enforcement.

“I’ve never pretended to be a police officer, and I’ve never threatened a shootout with the police,” Mr. Warnock said, prompting Mr. Walker to seem to prove his opponent’s point — and run afoul of the debate moderators — by pulling what appeared to be a badge out of his pocket, a violation of the debate’s prohibition on props.

Needing to land some blows, Mr. Walker sought to tar Mr. Warnock as a prevaricator, a line of attack that stemmed from newspaper articles about a report that Ebenezer Baptist Church had tried to evict some residents from an apartment building it owns.

Mr. Warnock said the church had evicted no one, even saying that his opponent had sullied the pulpit from which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. But that only prompted Mr. Walker to suggest he was lying.

Mr. Warnock retorted, “My opponent has a problem with the truth.”

Absent from the debate was a sustained focus on Mr. Walker’s baggage, which includes allegations of domestic violence, his out-of-wedlock children, and altercations with the police. The moderators of the one-hour debate, hosted in Savannah by Nexstar Media, frequently cut off exchanges about personalities and pasts in hopes of focusing on the issues — but that approach seemed to favor Mr. Walker.

When Mr. Walker’s personal problems came up in glancing references, he repeated his past statements that he struggled with mental illness and has since received successful treatment. He also tried to say Mr. Warnock was stigmatizing mental illness by questioning his past.

Mr. Walker said he was no longer being treated for dissociative identity disorder, the mental illness he has blamed for violence in his past.

“I am ready to serve,” he said.

He tried to underscore that point by drawing a contrast with Mr. Warnock, who he said repeatedly had voted in line with Mr. Biden “96 percent of the time.”

“It is evident that he has a point that he tried to make time and time again,” a more agitated Mr. Warnock responded in the last few minutes of the debate.

The two candidates had engaged in months of back-and-forth over whether, where and when they would debate, before finally agreeing to Friday’s event.

Leading up to the debate, Mr. Warnock had tried to run a campaign heavy on policy to avoid direct confrontations with his opponent. But on his behalf, Democrats flooded the airwaves with millions of dollars in negative advertising against Mr. Walker, underlining allegations of domestic violence brought forth by his ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, and his son Christian Walker.

On Friday, Mr. Walker acknowledged that some voters might have worries about his candidacy, looking directly into the camera and making a direct appeal to those “who are concerned about voting for me, a non-politician.”

Herschel Walker had a badge, and other key moments from his debate with Senator Raphael Warnock.

Here are standout moments from the debate.

A badge comes out.

Mr. Walker’s veracity has been a major issue in the campaign, as he has been accused of misrepresenting topics, including his résumé, his charitable donations and his number of children. Mr. Warnock tried to use an exchange over crime to accuse his opponent of lying.

“We will see time and time again tonight — as we’ve already seen — that my opponent has a problem with the truth,” Mr. Warnock said. “And just because he says something doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Mr. Warnock then referred to the time his opponent claimed to have been a police officer and an F.B.I. agent. Mr. Walker had made the claims as recently as 2019, when he told an audience that he was an F.B.I. agent — which he has never been. He has also claimed to work with the Cobb County Police Department in Georgia. The department told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that there was no record of him working there.

In response at the debate, Mr. Walker pulled out what appeared to be a badge before being reprimanded by a moderator for violating a prohibition against using “props.” Mr. Walker replied, “Well, it’s not a prop. This is real.”

A shift from Walker on abortion.

The most notable exchange over abortion rights wasn’t about accusations that Mr. Walker paid for an ex-girlfriend’s procedure. Instead, it was an apparent change in policy.

In May, Mr. Walker said a ban on abortion should have no exceptions, pushing for a more expansive proposal than the six-week prohibition passed by the Republican-controlled State Legislature. “Like I say, I believe in life. I believe in life,” he told reporters.

On the debate stage, he softened that position, implying that he backs the six-week bill that includes exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother. He then turned to Mr. Warnock’s stance, saying the pastor backs no limits on the procedure and is ignoring “the baby in the room as well.”

Painting one another as ‘desperate.’

In one notable exchange, Mr. Walker tried to flip the script on Mr. Warnock, after the pastor skirted questions about whether an Atlanta apartment building owned by Ebenezer Baptist Church had evicted tenants. The apartments are for people experiencing homelessness or with mental disabilities.

Mr. Warnock tried to cast Republicans as “desperate” for trying to “sully” a church attended by civil rights icons, including former Representative John Lewis, of Georgia, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Mr. Walker wasn’t cowed, returning to the issue a question later to cast Mr. Warnock as the “desperate” one.

“It’s OK to speak the truth. Do not bear false witness, senator,” shouted Mr. Walker, who said the evictions were “written about in the paper.”

Walker reverses on the 2020 election.

In an election that has been influenced by the positions of former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Walker made another notable reversal.

In the past, Mr. Walker has repeatedly questioned the results of the 2020 election and spread false stolen-election theories. Immediately after the 2020 race, he did not declare Mr. Biden the rightful winner.

“I can guarantee you, Joe Biden didn’t get 50 million people to vote for him, but yet, people think that he’s won this election,” Mr. Walker said in a Fox News interview in December 2020. Mr. Biden won more than 81 million votes.

Mr. Walker has since tried to temper those statements. In May, during his primary, he told an interviewer, “I think something happened; I don’t know what it was, but I said something happened so people are angry.”

But on Friday night, when asked whether Mr. Biden had defeated Mr. Trump, he sounded a different note.

“President Biden won and Raphael Warnock won,” he said.

On questions of democracy, both candidates said they would respect the results of the election, regardless of its outcome.

Looking ahead to 2024.

The two men veered from one another on a question of whether they would support their party’s leaders if they won the presidential nomination in 2024.

Mr. Walker quickly answered in the affirmative, saying “President Trump is my friend.” He used the moment to hit Mr. Biden — and by extension Mr. Warnock — for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, a move he described as abandoning an ally.

For Mr. Warnock, however, the question appeared more difficult. He did not answer directly, saying he had not “spent a minute” thinking about it and noting that he was more focused on the election at hand.

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Walker, by contrast, says he would support Donald Trump in 2024. “President Trump is my friend,” he says.

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Warnock stops short of calling Walker a liar on that one, saying “my opponent has a problem with the truth.”

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This debate is going particularly deep on the morality component of abortion. Walker is a quite observant Christian and Warnock a pastor.

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Walker’s response: “Did he not mention that there’s a baby in that room as well?”

Georgia won’t allow voter eligibility challenges at the polls, the elections director says.

“Challenges cannot be filed with a poll manager or any poll worker,” Mr. Evans said in a memo that was provided to The New York Times by the secretary of state’s office.

Mr. Evans opened with an acknowledgment that he needed to clarify statements that he made in a memo on Tuesday, which drew criticism from Black leaders, who said that in-person challenges could contribute to voter suppression.

In that earlier memo, he had offered an interpretation of state and federal laws governing such challenges, which have surpassed 65,000 in at least eight counties in Georgia this year. Only a small percentage of those challenges have been successful in a state that became a focus of efforts to overturn the 2020 election by former President Donald J. Trump and his supporters.

Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office in Georgia, who provided the memos, said in an interview on Friday that before the first memo, several counties had requested guidance about how to handle voter challenges.

He said there was confusion between a federal law that prohibits systemic changes to voter lists within 90 days of a federal election and a 2010 state law that allows Georgia residents to challenge the eligibility of individual voters. Further clouding the issue, he said, was a law enacted in 2021 that allows an unlimited number of challenges to be filed by an individual.

That law, crafted by Republicans, has been widely condemned by Democrats as stymying voting rights.

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Here’s how Republicans cast aside concerns and learned to love Herschel Walker.

Mr. Walker, a former football star and first-time candidate, has denied the latest claim and expressed shock about what he has cast as a stunning partisan broadside. But some Republicans close to him were hardly surprised: They had been discussing the arrival of this moment with the candidate for months.

Mr. Walker’s team was braced to defend him against accusations that he threatened his ex-wife, a claim that’s been public for years. But some advisers also knew about the specific abortion claim made by the mother of one of Mr. Walker’s children, according to two people familiar with the conversations. Those who knew said they warned Mr. Walker to prepare for the possibility that those details would become fodder in a political campaign, but Mr. Walker refused.

The issue mostly frustrated him, these people said. Mr. Walker privately denied the abortion, but instead of discussing a strategy to handle the claim, he maintained that the details would never become public. At times he would argue that if his ex-girlfriend’s account did leak out, it would not be believed because he had a child with the woman, according to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Walker campaign declined to comment.

Now, as he prepares on Friday to debate his Democratic opponent for the first time, the party is reckoning with the reality of a political gamble Republicans in Georgia and Washington made months ago. In the face of former President Donald J. Trump’s backing and Mr. Walker’s star power, Republican leaders, led by Senator Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, deemed resistance to Mr. Walker futile.

In a race that could determine control of the Senate, they chose short-term political expediency over confrontation with Mr. Trump or his chosen candidate.

The Georgia Senate race serves as an allegory of Trump-era Republicanism: Old-guard party leaders did not so much lead their voters as follow them; the evangelical wing was quick to compromise; Mr. Trump rewrote the conventional rules; and celebrity substituted for experience.

“The most rational-minded folks were wanting to pump the brakes on what felt like a runaway train,” said Geoff Duncan, the Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia, who was referring to Mr. Walker’s campaign. “Republicans were perfectly happy winning the first half of the football game, in the primary, and not paying any attention to the second half, which is the general.”

Mr. Duncan, a Trump critic, said he wouldn’t vote for Senator Raphael Warnock, the Democratic incumbent, but was not yet sure if he would support Mr. Walker.

The race remains a tossup; polls show Mr. Walker’s support dipping slightly, but in a tight race that could make the difference. Party leaders have stood by him. He continues to evince the brash confidence of a star athlete.

“They don’t realize that they’ve woken a grizzly bear,” Mr. Walker told Fox News aboard his campaign bus this week. “I’ve won at everything I’ve set my mind to.”

The Republican has frequently mentioned his mental health issues — he has been diagnosed with disassociative identity disorder, he said. He has not denied the domestic violence allegations and has suggested the disorder is to blame for previous outbursts and erratic behavior. He describes himself as a once-troubled man “saved by grace.” Democrats have said Mr. Walker has “a pattern of lying” and is not qualified to serve. The race could turn on which version of Mr. Walker voters believe.

“There are always risks with first-time candidates,” said David Shafer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. “But potential reward never comes without risk.”

A Personal Connection

From the beginning, Mr. Trump wanted Mr. Walker in the race. Mr. Walker’s hero status in Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy and a national championship for the University of Georgia, made him just the sort of celebrity candidate Mr. Trump likes to promote. As a Black Republican, he was a step toward diversifying the overwhelmingly white party.

But the draw was hardly just political. The two men have known each other for decades, and — just as he’s done for White House jobs and other political endorsem*nts — Mr. Trump let his personal connection override any background checks and other research typically involved in such high-profile job searches.

Mr. Walker grew close to Mr. Trump when he was a young athlete who had left college early to sign the richest contract in pro football with the New Jersey Generals franchise in the United States Football League in 1983. Mr. Trump purchased the team months later.

Mr. Walker became something of a surrogate uncle to Mr. Trump’s children, who often spent stretches of their summers with him. Eric Trump, and his brother, Donald Trump Jr. — whom Mr. Walker occasionally calls “Little Donald” — have spoken warmly to associates about trips with Mr. Walker to Disney World.

When Mr. Walker talks about his connection to Mr. Trump he emphasizes their friendship. “He’s eaten at my home,” Mr. Walker said in a May interview with Revolt.TV. “I’ve eaten at his home. My family has eaten at his home.”

Mr. Trump was even more effusive when Mr. Walker appeared as a contestant on Mr. Trump’s reality television program. “I am not a gay man — and I love you,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Walker when booting him off the Celebrity Apprentice.

‘The World Is Changing’

As he was preparing to announce his campaign last year, Mr. Walker bristled when friends and advisers tried to ask about his past, refusing even in private to take responsibility for his actions, according to Republicans who have been close to Mr. Walker. He grew frustrated with direct questions and raised doubts about the loyalty of his own team. One Republican strategist whom Mr. Walker spoke with last year said that Mr. Walker kept repeating how easy the race was going to be.

Christian Walker, Mr. Walker’s son, says he knew his father’s past would be difficult for the family and counseled him not to run, although he did not know about the abortion issue.

“I absolutely tried my best to attempt to get him prepared,” Christian Walker said in an email to The Times. “The best way forward was honesty. That clearly didn’t happen.”

(Mr. Walker has repeatedly said that he loves Christian, though he appears to have grown frustrated as Democrats seize on his son’s public criticism. “I hope they’re paying him,” Mr. Walker said this week, “because I’ve been paying his rent for a long time.”)

Mr. Walker had reason to be optimistic about his bid. Internal polling showed that he enjoyed an approval rating of higher than 90 percent among Georgia Republicans. The combination of his local star power and vocal support of Mr. Trump made him virtually untouchable in a Republican primary.

“If your name is Herschel Walker, and you’re a pro-life conservative, with his name ID, celebrity and impressive fund-raising ability, the primary was over the day he entered the race,” Ralph Reed, chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition and a former state party chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, said.

Mr. Trump, too, was unconcerned with Mr. Walker’s past. “Twenty years ago would’ve been a bigger problem. I don’t think it’s a problem today,” he said in September 2021, according to “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America” by Maggie Haberman, a Times reporter.

Asked to explain, the former president — who was recorded bragging about groping women, accused of sexual assault and twice impeached — said: “Because the world is changing.”

A Fleeting Resistance

Mr. McConnell, the second most powerful man in Republican politics, had other ideas about who should run.

From the moment two runoff losses in Georgia cost Republicans their Senate majority in January 2021, the state was at the center of Mr. McConnell’s plan to wrest back control in 2022. Even before Senator David Perdue of Georgia had publicly conceded defeat, Mr. McConnell asked him to consider running again this year, according to a person briefed on the conversation.

But Mr. Perdue didn’t entertain the idea for long. In February, he flew to Florida for a visit and a round of golf with Mr. Trump. Within days, Mr. Perdue announced he would not be running and soon after Mr. Trump publicly urged in a statement, “Run Herschel, run!”

Mr. McConnell did not take no for an answer.

Over the summer, news stories began to reveal new details about accusations that Mr. Walker repeatedly threatened his ex-wife’s life, exaggerated claims of financial success and alarmed business associates with unpredictable behavior. (Notably, Mr. McConnell’s longtime political adviser, Josh Holmes, shared on Twitter one Associated Press article, calling it “about as comprehensive a takedown as I’ve ever read. My lord.”)

Days earlier, Mr. McConnell met with Mr. Perdue at the Capitol, checking if the former senator’s decision not to run was still in effect. It was. Mr. Walker officially entered the race in August, and the two men were soon speaking frequently. Mr. McConnell grew more comfortable as Mr. Walker was solicitous of his advice, according to two people briefed on the calls. Within two months, he had formally endorsed Mr. Walker.

In embracing Mr. Walker, Mr. McConnell accepted a candidate who, from the start, was sure to make the race about the Republican nominee instead of the Democratic one — anathema to his preferred strategy. By the spring of 2022, Mr. McConnell was publicly defending Mr. Walker’s tumultuous past.

“Almost every candidate has had troubled periods,” Mr. McConnell said in an April interview with Axios, when asked about his ex-wife’s allegations of violence. He cut off further questions: “I think Walker is completely electable.”

Others still disagreed. Georgia’s straight-talking agriculture commissioner, Gary Black, got into the primary race a few months before Mr. Walker. As momentum for his opponent grew, Mr. Black insisted his party was about to cede the advantage.

Mr. Walker, he argued, was a political novice with a turbulent history who wouldn’t be able to make the race about the Democrats.

“If Herschel Walker is the nominee,” Mr. Black warned in an interview days before the primary, “this race will be about Herschel Walker.”

Mr. Black’s team made its case to National Republican Senatorial Committee officials in the fall of 2021, showing a video of Mr. Walker’s ex-wife speaking about the time he held a gun to her temple and threatened to shoot. Party officials made them turn it off; the meeting was supposed to be about general election strategy, one official said.

The same clip has been aired repeatedly by Democrats.

Lisa Lerer and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.

In a Georgia race rife with controversy, Senator Raphael Warnock is a study in restraint.

“We have seen some disturbing things. We’ve seen a disturbing pattern,” he said during a news conference on Friday, avoiding any predictions about how the claims against the Republican could affect his standing with voters. “It raises real questions about who’s actually ready to represent the people of Georgia in the United States Senate.”

Mr. Warnock, a pastor known for enlivening audiences on the stump and from the pulpit, has plenty of reasons to practice restraint these days. Despite the state’s Democratic shift in 2020, his victory in November could hinge on winning over moderate, even conservative-leaning voters who are tired of the Trump-era drama. For Mr. Warnock, that means casting Mr. Walker, a Trump-endorsed first-time candidate and former football star, as unqualified on account of his tumultuous personal history.

While he still spends time ginning up support among his Democratic supporters, whose turnout he will badly need on Election Day, Mr. Warnock has also campaigned extensively in deep-red parts of the state. He keeps his message to those groups broad, focusing on kitchen-table issues like health care and improving infrastructure. He is more likely to bring up the Republicans he has worked with in the Senate — Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Tommy Tuberville — than he is to mention President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris or Senator Chuck Schumer.

“He has taken very seriously the idea that he represents the whole state,” said Jason Carter, a close Warnock ally who ran for governor in 2014. “That has an impact on how you carry yourself.”

While the headlines about Mr. Walker have been harsh, it is not at all clear that they will sink his Senate ambitions. Christian conservatives along with the Republican establishment in Georgia and Washington have stuck by him. Recent polls suggest the race remains close, though most show Mr. Warnock with a slight lead. A poll conducted by the University of Georgia and several state news outlets released Wednesday found that the senator led Mr. Walker by three points, with support from about 46 percent of likely voters. A candidate must clear 50 percent to win, and many Georgians are bracing for the race to go a runoff. A debate between the contenders on Friday night could also change its course.

One question hanging over that debate is whether Mr. Warnock himself will directly go on the attack. Until now, he has largely saved the vitriol for the airwaves. His campaign has run a barrage of highly personal negative advertising and Democratic-aligned groups are spending a combined $36 million on an anti-Walker push. The ads highlight accusations from Mr. Walker’s son of domestic abuse and an episode in which Mr. Walker held a gun to the temple of his ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, and threatened to kill her. Mr. Walker has not denied the domestic violence allegations, saying that his behavior was a consequence of his struggles with mental illness at the time.

On the campaign trail, both candidates’ strategies sit in stark contrast.

While Mr. Walker often meanders in speeches, this week relaying a lesson about gratitude through the story of a bull jumping a fence, Mr. Warnock peppers his practiced stump speeches with calls to expand Medicaid. While national Republican figures like Rick Scott and Tom Cotton have come to Georgia to bolster the candidacy of their party’s nominee, Mr. Warnock still campaigns solo.

When asked if he would welcome a visit from any national Democrats, Mr. Warnock dodges the question.

“I’m focused not on who I’m campaigning with but who I’m campaigning for,” Mr. Warnock said during a recent news conference. “The people of Georgia hired me.”

Republicans have tied him to his party anyway. “Raphael Warnock, who campaigned with his puppies two years ago, has proven to be simply a lap dog for Joe Biden,” Mr. Cotton said on Tuesday to the crowd of more than 100 Walker supporters. “Herschel Walker will be a champion for the people of Georgia.”

Mr. Walker, too, has painted the senator as ultraprogressive and a champion of Mr. Biden’s policies. During a recent campaign stop in Smarr, Ga., Mr. Walker condemned Mr. Warnock’s support of the Inflation Reduction Act, calling the White House ceremony marking its passage over the summer a “party in Washington.”

“And as you’re looking at this, the split screen is the stock market is crashing,” Mr. Walker said to rousing applause. “What we’ve done right now is put the wrong person in Washington making the deals for us.”

Mr. Warnock has had to contend with personal challenges of his own, including a legal dispute with his ex-wife, Ouleye Ndoye, this spring. She sued him to change the terms of their child custody agreement after her move to a different state and asked to increase his monthly child support payments to reflect his higher salary since he became a senator.

During his first campaign in 2020, after an argument between the two, Ms. Ndoye said Mr. Warnock ran over her foot. The police did not find any physical damage to Ms. Ndoye’s foot, and Mr. Warnock was not charged. The incident has since been turned into an attack ad from a PAC affiliated with Mr. Walker, in which Ms. Ndoye calls Mr. Warnock “a great actor.”

Mr. Warnock’s campaign declined to comment on the claim, and Ms. Ndoye did not respond to a request for one.

Even when speaking to those most likely to support him, Mr. Warnock delivers his message carefully. At a recent Women for Warnock event in the event space of a West Atlanta community center, African American seniors said “amen” and cheered after nearly every point he made, vowing to vote early, bring friends to the polls and adorn their yards with Warnock signs as they hugged and took selfies with the senator. Some were members of Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he is senior pastor.

Afterward, when asked during a news conference whether he had a message to voters who were nervous about Mr. Walker’s past but frustrated with Democrats’ policies, he said simply “I’m working for Georgia” and turned to a point about his effort to cap prescription drug costs.

Mr. Warnock rarely holds one-on-one interviews or deviates from practiced answers to reporters’ questions.

He has also focused his message to voters on his work with Republicans in Washington. In stump speeches and news conferences, Mr. Warnock mentions a provision in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that he and Mr. Cruz wrote to authorize funds that would connect a portion of the Interstate 14 highway to link Texas and Georgia. He also talks up legislation he co-sponsored with Mr. Rubio to address the high maternal mortality rates in both of their states.

But Mr. Warnock’s cozying up to Republicans can come with risks. Mr. Warnock mentioned his partnership with Mr. Tuberville in a recent advertisem*nt. But after Mr. Tuberville made racist comments in a speech at a Trump rally over the weekend, Mr. Warnock was asked on a liberal podcast to respond and labeled the comments “deeply disappointing.”

“Not only is this rhetoric inappropriate. Quite frankly, it’s dangerous,” he said, calling for Mr. Tuberville to apologize.

Mr. Warnock’s bipartisan message is meant to appeal to a broad swath of voters, his proponents say, giving Georgians a reason to vote for him — and not merely against Mr. Walker.

“He is walking a fine line. And it’s not just because he’s trying to distance himself from President Biden,” said Derrick Jackson, a Metro Atlanta state representative and vice chairman of the General Assembly’s Black caucus. “He’s talking about voting for something, instead of voting against something. And there’s an art to that.”

Monica Davis, a 62-year-old retiree from Johns Creek, an Atlanta suburb, is among those Mr. Warnock would like to win over. A self-described Republican, she said she planned to vote for Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, but was struggling with whether to vote for Mr. Walker.

“I believe he’s a candidate because he is a sports hero. I think there are a lot more qualified candidates,” she said, adding that she was “disappointed in the Republican Party that chose him.” She remained unsure of Mr. Warnock.

“I might just not vote on that particular category,” she said.

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With Election Day nearing, candidates are meeting for debates. See when and where to watch.

Thursday, Nov. 3: Maine

In Maine, Gov. Janet T. Mills, a Democrat, and her Republican challenger, former Gov. Paul LePage, met for a final debate. In her closing message to voters, Ms. Mills warned that Mr. LePage would bring “fighting, dysfunction and stalemate” to the state government.

Read more from News Center Maine: ‘Mills, LePage debate for a final time in race for governor’

Wednesday, Nov. 2: New Hampshire

Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, a Democrat, debated Don Bolduc, her Republican challenger, for a final time. Ms. Hassan tried to cast her opponent as an extremist while emphasizing her efforts to work with Republicans in the Senate.

Read more from Seacoast Online: ‘In New Hampshire Senate debate, Hassan and Bolduc argue abortion, inflation and more’

Tuesday, Nov. 1: Ohio

The candidates for Senate in Ohio, Representative Tim Ryan, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a Republican, participated in a town hall hosted by Fox News. Mr. Vance clarified that he would accept the results of his election, though defended his statements doubting the outcome of the 2020 election.

Read: ‘Vance Says He Will Accept Election Results, While Still Questioning 2020’s’

Sunday, Oct. 30: Georgia, Washington State

In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, and Stacey Abrams, his Democratic challenger, met for their second and final debate. Mr. Kemp and Ms. Abrams focused on highlighting their respective platforms, staying clear of personal attacks.

Read: ‘4 Takeaways From the Last Kemp-Abrams Debate Before Election Day’

Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a Democrat, debated Tiffany Smiley, a Republican. Ms. Smiley sought to portray the incumbent as a D.C. insider, telling her opponent, “You are not the mom in tennis shoes anymore,” a reference to a Murray campaign line.

Read more from The Seattle Times: Patty Murray, Tiffany Smiley meet for 2nd debate as campaign enters homestretch

Friday, Oct. 28: Colorado, Minnesota

In Colorado, Senator Michael Bennet, a Democrat, and Joe O’Dea, his Republican challenger, debated for a final time. The two candidates both voiced support for mandatory background checks for gun purchases but disagreed on a question about a ban on the sale of assault rifles.

Read more from The Denver Post: ‘A final, feisty debate in U.S. Senate race as Michael Bennet, Joe O’Dea make their cases’

In their final debate in the race to lead Minnesota, Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, and Scott Jensen, his Republican challenger, traded personal attacks. Mr. Jensen said that Mr. Walz had “failed” his duties as governor, while Mr. Walz said his opponent was running on “a dark and fearful vision of Minnesota.”

Read more from The Star Tribune: ‘Accusations intensify in third and final Minnesota governor debate’

Thursday, Oct. 27: Alaska, Maine, New Hampshire

Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a Republican, debated three challengers, including Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican running to Ms. Murkowski’s right. Ms. Murkowski defended her record against criticism from Ms. Tshibaka, who called the incumbent “one of the worst senators even imaginable.”

The large field is the result of a new system in Alaska that allows the top four candidates to advance to the general election, regardless of party. In the general election, voters again rank the candidates in order of preference.

Read: “Murkowski Fends Off Attacks on Her Record in Alaska’s Senate Debate”

In Maine, Ms. Mills, a Democrat, and Mr. LePage, her Republican challenger, met for their penultimate debate. The two candidates clashed over Maine’s economy, blaming each other for the state’s chronic labor shortage.

Read more from The Bangor Daily News: “4 key moments from Thursday’s gubernatorial debate”

In New Hampshire, Ms. Hassan, a Democrat, debated Mr. Bolduc, her Republican challenger. Mr. Bolduc retracted his previous claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, saying he realized claims of widespread fraud were unfounded.

Read: “Hassan’s challenger, Don Bolduc, goes on the offensive, but stumbles into contradictions”

Wednesday, Oct. 26: Alaska

Representative Mary Peltola of Alaska, a Democrat, debated her challengers, including former Gov. Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III, both Republicans. Ms. Peltola, who won a special election this summer after the death of Representative Don Young, painted herself as the natural successor to Mr. Young, a Republican. Several of Mr. Young’s former staff members have endorsed Ms. Peltola.

Read: “Peltola Squared Off in Debate Against 3 Challengers in Alaska House Race”

Tuesday, Oct. 25: Colorado, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania

In Colorado’s Senate race, Mr. Bennet, a Democrat, and Mr. O’Dea, his Republican challenger, argued about inflation and energy prices during a debate hosted by Colorado Mesa University.

Read more from The Denver Post: “Three themes and one grim agreement from Michael Bennet and Joe O’Dea’s Senate debate”

In Michigan, Tudor Dixon, a Republican challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, defended herself against Ms. Whitmer’s criticism of her positions on abortion.

Read more from The Detroit Free Press: “4 takeaways from the first Whitmer-Dixon debate"

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York, a Democrat, met her Republican challenger, Lee Zeldin, in their only debate. Mr. Zeldin focused on crime, while Ms. Hochul tried to tie her challenger to former President Donald J. Trump.

Read: “Battle for New York: 5 Takeaways From the Hochul-Zeldin Debate”

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, and Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican, met for the only debate of their Senate campaign. The candidates discussed crime, abortion and fracking.

Read: “Fetterman, showing the effects of his stroke, battled Oz in a hostile Senate debate”

Monday, Oct. 24: Florida, Maine

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Charlie Crist, a former governor and U.S. lawmaker, discussed abortion, education and climate change in their only debate. The debate was originally scheduled for earlier in the month but was postponed because of Hurricane Ian.

Read: “Four Takeaways From the DeSantis-Crist Debate in Florida’s Governor Race"

In Maine, Ms. Mills and Mr. LePage each painted themselves as the true champion of Maine’s lobster industry in the second debate between the candidates for governor.

Read more from The Bangor Daily News: “Paul LePage’s curveballs and Janet Mills’ look back define 2nd TV debate”

Sunday, Oct. 23: Washington State

In Washington, Ms. Murray, a Democrat, faced Tiffany Smiley, her Republican challenger, in a contentious debate. Ms. Murray defended her record and Ms. Smiley tried to blame the incumbent for inflation and rising crime rates.

Read more from The Seattle Times: “Patty Murray, Tiffany Smiley spar over crime, abortion, climate at Senate debate”

Friday, Oct. 21: Arkansas

Three candidates for governor in Arkansas met for their only debate. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican; Chris Jones, a Democrat; and Ricky Dale Harrington, Jr., a Libertarian; discussed how they approach media access to their campaigns. Ms. Huckabee Sanders, a former White House press secretary, said she prefers to cut out the “middle man” and speak directly to voters.

Read more from 4029 News: “Arkansas governor’s debate: Candidates respond to question on media access”

Thursday, Oct. 20: Massachusetts

The candidates running for governor in Massachusetts, Geoff Diehl, a Republican, and Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat, met for their final debate. The two candidates argued about taxes and the state’s economy but agreed that they would both “absolutely” accept the results of the election.

Read more from The Boston Globe: “Maura Healey and Geoff Diehl spar in final gubernatorial debate”

Wednesday, Oct. 19: Oregon

Three candidates running for governor in Oregon met for their final debate. Tina Kotek, a Democrat; Christine Drazan, a Republican; and Betsy Johnson, an independent, all agreed that reducing homelessness would be among their top priorities if elected.

Read more from OregonLive: “Candidates for governor clash on homelessness, education, policing during final televised debate”

Tuesday, Oct. 18: Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire

In Colorado, Mr. Bennet, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Mr. O’Dea, participated in a 30-minute forum on mental health.

Read more from The Colorado Sun: “Colorado’s U.S. Senate candidates debate in the race’s first-ever mental health forum”

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, a Republican, and Val B. Demings, a Democrat, met for their first debate. They touched on abortion, foreign policy, gun control and property insurance.

Read: “Four Takeaways From the Rubio-Demings Debate in Florida’s Senate Race”

In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, hammered Darren Bailey, his Republican opponent, on his ties to Mr. Trump and others who have questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

Read more from The Chicago Tribune: “In final debate, Darren Bailey calls Chicago ‘Pritzkerville,’ while governor says challenger a threat to democracy”

Minnesota’s governor, Mr. Walz, a Democrat, and Mr. Jensen, a Republican, argued about how they would spend the state’s budget. The candidates also disagreed on mining, gun control and opioids.

Read more from The Star Tribune: “Walz, Jensen clash in first and only TV debate in Minnesota Governor’s race”

Ms. Hassan of New Hampshire, a Democrat, faced her Republican challenger, Mr. Bolduc, in a debate that focused on economic issues. Mr. Bolduc revealed a point of agreement with the incumbent, on raising the cap on income that can be taxed to fund Social Security.

Read: “New Hampshire’s Senate Debate Reveals a Surprising Point of Agreement”

Monday, Oct. 17: Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Utah

In Georgia, Mr. Kemp, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Ms. Abrams met for their first debate this year. The two candidates addressed gun control policies, the state’s recovery from Covid-19 and economic policy. Shane Hazel, a Libertarian candidate who will be on the ballot, also participated.

Read: “5 Takeaways From the Georgia Governor’s Debate: Kemp and Abrams Came Ready”

Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, a Republican, defended her record against Deirdre DeJear, a Democrat vying for the seat. Ms. Reynolds argued that the state’s budget had remained balanced under her leadership, while Ms. DeJear accused the incumbent of underfunding public services like education and health care.

Read more from The Des Moines Register: ‘Kim Reynolds and Deidre DeJear spar in their only Iowa governor debate. Here’s what they said’

In a second debate for Ohio’s Senate candidates, Mr. Ryan, a Democrat, and Mr. Vance, a Republican, each tried to paint his opponent as extreme.

Read: “5 Takeaways From the Final Ohio Senate Debate”

Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a Republican, and his independent challenger, Evan McMullin, agreed on some points, including abortion policy, in their only debate. But Mr. McMullin offered sharp criticism of Mr. Lee’s role in undermining the results of the 2020 election, a major theme of Mr. McMullin’s campaign.

Read: “5 Takeaways From the Utah Senate Debate”

Friday, Oct. 14: Georgia, Wisconsin

Herschel Walker, a Republican who is challenging Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, a Democrat, went on the offensive in the pair’s first debate, at one point telling Mr. Warnock, a pastor, “Do not bear false witness.”

Read: “Walker Barrels Into Georgia Debate and Meets a Controlled Warnock”

In Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and Tim Michels, a Republican, disagreed on gun control and parents’ power in setting school curriculum.

Read more from The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Takeaways from the only debate between Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and challenger Tim Michels”

Thursday, Oct. 13: Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin

In the first Michigan governor’s debate, Ms. Whitmer, a Democrat who is seeking her second term, highlighted her experience in elected office over two decades. Ms. Dixon, her Republican challenger and a conservative TV news commentator, cast herself as a political outsider who says the state needs fixing.

Read: “Five Takeaways From the Michigan Governor’s Debate”

In the second Senate debate in Wisconsin, Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, disagreed on abortion access, but neither candidate explained specific policy changes they would support if elected.

Read: “Four Takeaways From the Barnes-Johnson Senate Debate”

Candidates for a newly created House seat in Colorado answered questions about oil and gas production, abortion access and a failed secession bid in 2013 that would have broken Northern Colorado off into a new state.

Read more from 9News: “CD8 candidates face off on economy, abortion, housing”

In a different debate, Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado, a Democrat, and his Republican challenger, Heidi Ganahl, went over their respective plans to eliminate income tax in the state.

Read more from The Colorado Sun: “What we learned about Jared Polis and Heidi Ganahl during their debate”

Wednesday, Oct. 12: Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico

Maryland’s candidates for governor, Dan Cox, a Republican, and Wes Moore, a Democrat, traded personal attacks in their only debate. Mr. Moore criticized Mr. Cox for supporting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and Mr. Cox accused Mr. Moore of falsifying details in his autobiography, which Mr. Moore has denied.

Read more from The Baltimore Sun: “Maryland governor candidates Dan Cox and Wes Moore trade jabs in sole debate”

In Massachusetts, the candidates for governor, Mr. Diehl, a Republican, and Ms. Healey, a Democrat, argued over taxes, renewable energy and Mr. Trump’s legacy.

Read more from The Boston Globe: “Healey, Diehl spar on Trump, abortion rights, and affordability in first TV debate”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, a Democrat, and her Republican challenger, Mark Ronchetti, met for their final debate this year. Ms. Lujan Grisham attacked Mr. Ronchetti’s dearth of political experience, and Mr. Ronchetti questioned the incumbent about a $150,000 settlement she reached in 2020 with a former staff member who accused her of sexual harassment. Her campaign denies the allegations.

Read more from The Albuquerque Journal: “Gov candidates confront each other in combative debate”

Monday, Oct. 10: Ohio

The first debate between the candidates for Senate in Ohio, Mr. Ryan and Mr. Vance, was sometimes heated and often personal.

Read: “Six Takeaways From the Vance-Ryan Debate in the Ohio Senate Race”

Friday, Oct. 7: North Carolina, Wisconsin

Cheri Beasley, a Democratic former chief justice of the State Supreme Court, and Representative Ted Budd, who are competing for a Senate seat in North Carolina, met for a debate in Raleigh. Mr. Budd, a Republican, tried to portray the race as a referendum on President Biden, while Ms. Beasley sought to tie her opponent to election denialism and Mr. Trump.

Read: “The Key Issues That Defined North Carolina’s Senate Debate”

Mr. Johnson and Mr. Barnes previously met for a debate in Madison that put their ideological differences on full display: Mr. Barnes embraced progressive ideas like marijuana legalization and the defense of Black Lives Matter protesters, while Mr. Johnson derided efforts to curb climate change.

Read: “Five Takeaways From the Wisconsin Senate Debate”

Thursday, Oct. 6: Arizona, Illinois

Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona, a Democrat, and Blake Masters, his Republican challenger, met for a debate in Phoenix, where the topics included abortion, immigration and California’s water use.

Read: “Five Takeaways From the Arizona Senate Debate”

Mr. Pritzker and Mr. Bailey debated in Normal, Ill., as part of their contest for governor. Mr. Bailey pressed Mr. Pritzker, whose presidential ambitions are no secret, to pledge to serve out all four years of his term if re-elected. Moderators asked Mr. Bailey to explain comments that compared abortion to the Holocaust.

Read: “In Illinois Governor’s Debate, Bailey Tries to Put Pritzker on Defensive”

Wednesday, Oct. 5: Kansas

Gov. Laura Kelly of Kansas, a Democrat, and her Republican opponent, Derek Schmidt, the state attorney general, met for a debate in Kansas City. Mr. Schmidt danced around the issue of abortion, saying that while he preferred “a Kansas that has fewer abortions, not more,” he would respect the outcome of an August referendum in the state that preserved abortion rights.

Read: ”G.O.P. Governor Candidate in Kansas Walks Abortion Tightrope in a Debate”

Tuesday, Oct. 4: Maine

Ms. Mills and Mr. LePage met for their first debate in Lewiston, Maine. Mr. LePage struggled to answer a question from a moderator about whether he would veto additional restrictions on abortion if a Republican legislature were to pass them.

Read: “LePage Stumbles on Abortion Questioning in Maine Governor’s Debate”