Trump Urges Herschel Walker to Run for Georgia Senate Seat

Former President Donald Trump addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) held in the Hyatt Regency in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 28, 2021. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump called on former NFL player Herschel Walker to run for Georgia’s Senate race in 2022.

“Wouldn’t it be fantastic if the legendary Herschel Walker ran for the United States Senate in Georgia?” Trump said in a news release. “He would be unstoppable, just like he was when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs, and in the NFL. He is also a GREAT person. Run Herschel, run!”

Walker, who supported Trump during his 2016 campaign, voiced his support for the former president during the 2020 Republican National Convention last year. Walker is a native of Georgia who was a running back for the Georgia Bulldogs, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1982 before joining the Trump-backed United States Football League in the early 1980s. After that, he played for the Dallas Cowboys, Minnesota Vikings, and several other NFL teams for 12 seasons.

Walker, during his 2020 RNC speech, categorically denied leftist claims that Trump is a racist.

“It hurt my soul to hear the terrible names that people called Donald,” he said. “The worst one is racist. I take it as a personal insult that people would think I’ve had a 37-year friendship with a racist. People that think that don’t know what they’re talking about. Growing up in the Deep South, I’ve seen racism up close. I know what it is. And it isn’t Donald Trump.”

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Herschel Walker displays his new jersey after he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings for a number of players and draft choices on Oct. 12, 1989. Jim Mone/AP Photo

The 2022 Georgia Senate race will pit a GOP challenger against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who narrowly defeated former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.). Loeffler was appointed for the Senate seat by Gov. Brian Kemp after the resignation of Sen. Johnny Isakson at the end of 2019.

Loeffler has publicly expressed interest in running for the seat in 2022, as has former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.). Former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) several weeks ago filed paperwork to run for the seat but later withdrew his bid.

And in recent days, Trump has handed out endorsements to Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, and the Arkansas attorney general bid by the state’s Republican Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin. Trump also endorsed former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders for Arkansas governor, as well as the reelection campaigns of Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), John Kennedy (R-La.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Jerry Moran (R-Kansas).

Separately, the former president—in public speeches and emailed statements—has threatened to back primary challengers against Republican incumbents, including Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial in February.