When Georgia’s Senate race between incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) and Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker heads to a runoff election, Walker will face one challenge: Governor Brian Kemp (R) won’t be on the ballot.
Among the many potential handicaps Walker could face in the runoff, pundits believe Kemp not appearing on the ballot could be detrimental to Walker’s efforts.
Kemp won his election against Democratic gubernatorial Stacy Abrams, easily achieving the more than 50 percent threshold needed to clinch victory.
For Walker, who trails Warnock by over 48,000 votes and Kemp by 210,000 votes, the road to victory isn’t as clear cut.
According to one GOP operative, Walker is an “underdog” whose race is likely to be hampered without the presence of a strong Republican like Kemp also on the ballot.
But, while Kemp’s name isn’t on the ballot, the Governor has loaned Walker his undefeated political apparatus, which will be bankrolled by the Senate Leadership Fund to the tune of $2 million.
The Senate Leadership Fund is linked to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who struck a deal with Kemp last week to have the latter loan his micro-targeting, door-knocking, data analytics, phone banking system to Walker’s campaign.
Kemp’s operation launched after the 2020 election when he believed former Sen. David Perdue (R) held some of the party’s loyalties in the state, possibly giving him the upper hand.
Backed by his formidable political apparatus, Kemp handily defeated the Trump-backed Perdue in the Republican primary.
However, it remains to be seen if Kemp’s program will have the same effect on Walker, who could be hindered by another event: former President Donald Trump announcing his 2024 White House bid.
