Less than sixty days remain until Election Day and Senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker are edging closer to agreeing on a debate in Savannah.
Warnock previously agreed to debate Walker in three debates: WTOC-TV in Savannah, the Atlanta Press Club, and a group of news organizations in Macon. However, Walker only wanted to debate Warnock, in Savannah, on October 14th. Walker also requested to know the topics in advance and have an audience in attendance.
“It’s time for Herschel Walker to stop playing games,” said Quentin Fulks, Warnock for Georgia campaign manager. “The job of a U.S. Senator isn’t one where you know the topics ahead of time or get a cheat sheet, and Herschel Walker shouldn’t need one to find the courage to walk on a debate stage. Reverend Warnock is hopeful that Herschel Walker will finally stop dodging debates and show voters if he’s really ready to represent Georgia.”
Conversely, Walker’s preferred debate would be aired on Nexstar stations WSAV-TV in Savannah, WJBF-TV in Augusta and WRBL-TV in Columbus, as well as WAGA-TV in Atlanta, WGXA-TV in Macon and WFXL-TV in Albany.
“It is time that people see the difference,” Walker said during an August 2nd appearance on Hannity. “So on Oct. 14, I want Sen. Warnock to be ready, because I have accepted a debate, and now he can quit talking and show the people he’s going to stand behind his words and show up for the debate,” Walker told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Tuesday.|
On Wednesday, Walker eventually agreed to a debate in Savannah without any conditions.
“I don’t need debate topics,” Walker said on Twitter. “We all know @ReverendWarnock stands with @JoeBiden on everything so no surprises there. I’ve accepted the Savannah debate without conditions. He should too. But he’s playing games. Let’s do this debate for the people. Ball is in his court.”
Warnock also would like Walker to accept an Oct. 13 debate sponsored by Mercer University and local news organizations in Macon or the Atlanta Press Club debate to be aired statewide on Georgia Public Broadcasting on Oct. 16.
The Warnock campaign has consistently labeled Walker as a habitual liar and someone who could not be trusted. Meanwhile, the Walker campaign has labeled Warnock as a rubber stamp for President Joe Biden’s agenda.
Polling in this race is absolutely tight. According to the latest average of polls on RealClearPolitics, Walker leads Warnock by 0.5%. In the latest Insider Advantage/FOX5 poll conducted between September 6th and 7th, Walker led Warnock 47% to 44%.
“Warnock is winning among younger voters and seniors but trails badly among those 40-64. Men support Walker at 60%, while women support Warnock at 55%. Walker is receiving 12% support from African American respondents,” explained InsiderAdvantage Chairman Matt Towery. “With only 4% undecided, this race could very well be headed to a General Election runoff given the fact that there seems to be few points among the various demographics up for grabs.”
The poll conducted by Emerson has a deeper dive into the splits between the candidates.
“Walker leads Warnock among rural voters 58% to 24% while Warnock leads Walker 66% to 25% among urban voters,” said Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling. “In the suburbs, voters are breaking for Walker by a nine-point margin, 50% to 41%.”