Former First Lady Michelle Obama has recorded a pair of robo-calls on behalf of the re-election campaign of Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, who is currently hoping to win a full term of six years in an ongoing runoff contest against Trump-supported Republican Herschel Walker.
“This election is going to be very close, and there are a lot of folks on the other side hoping you stay home,” Obama said in a message encouraging early voting. “But we need you to get out and vote one more time for Raphael Warnock. Rev. Warnock will always fight for Georgia, and in the Senate he’s proven he can get things done.” She also recorded a similarly styled message promoting voting on Election Day, which is December 6. Former President Barack Obama will also be once again campaigning on Warnock’s behalf ahead of the election, with a rally set for Atlanta. Before Election Day in the midterms held last month, the former president rallied Democratic voters in over half a dozen states, including Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona, and Nevada. Key Democratic candidates running statewide won or (in Warnock’s case) came close to winning in each of these states, while candidates aligned with Trump rather uniformly struggled, helping ensure Democrats held on to the Senate for at least two more years.
Walker has been mired in controversy throughout the campaign, which is now extending to a runoff because neither of the contenders cracked 50 percent of the overall total in the first round, although Warnock won more votes overall. Some of the more recent concerns raised about Walker include his out-of-state ties. Even while running for Senate in Georgia, he has apparently continued claiming a homestead exemption on his taxes for a residence in Texas — and while doing so, he has also registered to vote and participated in elections in Georgia. If he is maintaining a residence in Texas while voting and running for Senate in Georgia, that could pose legal issues — and he could face problems in Texas if he is still claiming the exemption there while not actually living in the state, so either option could be problematic. He has also consistently lied about basic elements of his background, whether that’s seeming to try and take credit for businesses he didn’t actually found or primarily run or claiming he has some kind of law enforcement career when the evidence shows he’s never been a cop.
Former DeKalb County district attorney J. Tom Morgan explained earlier this year that the status of “honorary deputy,” which the Walker campaign pointed to the candidate ostensibly holding in Cobb County, “absolutely means nothing” and is “the equivalent of a junior ranger badge.” Walker, who has appeared for interviews flanked by currently serving GOP Senators as though they don’t trust him to talk for himself, held up a badge during a pre-November 8 debate, forcing a moderator to remind him of rules against props.
