A pastor, a football star, and the battle for a key Senate seat
| Swainsboro and Atlanta, Ga.
When Raphael Warnock was six years old, his mother discovered him preaching his heart out in his room, huffing and puffing as he tried to imitate the soaring cadences of revival preachers he鈥檇 heard at church in Savannah, Georgia.
Some 115 miles inland, a young Herschel Walker was also gasping for breath, sprinting down the railroad tracks near his house as he embarked on a rigorous solo training regime that would transform him and his life.听听听
Raised in modest, 海角大神 homes, both men harnessed an unusual drive and talent to achieve pinnacles of success 鈥� encountering hardship, losses, and racism along the way. Now, they鈥檙e facing off in one of the most important Senate races in the country.听
Why We Wrote This
Georgia is a growing economic powerhouse that represents, in many ways, America鈥檚 multiracial future. Its historic Senate race between two Black men offers contrasting visions, especially on matters of identity and division.
That鈥檚 about where the similarities end.听
Senator Warnock, whose narrow 2021 win unexpectedly flipped control of the Senate to the Democrats, is hoping to once again assemble a winning coalition of Black voters and white progressives who have dramatically shifted Georgia鈥檚 politics in recent years. As the senior pastor of the influential Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where he returns every weekend, he casts politics in moral terms, as the proving ground for his work in the pulpit.听
Mr. Walker, a former University of Georgia football star endorsed by Donald Trump, has pulled听听with Mr. Warnock,听despite facing a series of damaging personal allegations in the campaign. Most prominently, two women have accused Mr. Walker, who opposes abortion rights, of encouraging them to terminate pregnancies and paying for the procedure 鈥� charges he denies.听
The Heisman Trophy winner turned businessman is drawing support mainly from white conservatives, including many evangelical voters who say they are听willing听to forgive past sins. 鈥淚n Georgia, there鈥檚 God, Jesus, and Herschel Walker 鈥� that鈥檚 our holy trinity,鈥� says one rally attendee who declined to give his name.听 听 听听
The outcome could once again determine which party will control the U.S. Senate.听Beyond that, the face-off between two Black men, in a former Confederate state that recently became majority nonwhite, is both historic and a harbinger for U.S. politics.听At a time when the nation is grappling with past and present injustices, these candidates represent competing sets of values and ideals听鈥� and听 different ideas about how best to address America鈥檚 inequities, divisions, and domestic and foreign policy challenges.听
鈥淥f all the races I鈥檝e watched, this one has captivated my mind,鈥� says Karen Owen, a political scientist at the University of West Georgia in听Carrollton, who is writing a book about this Georgia Senate race. 鈥淚t is their story. It is the historical moment they are providing for a state that has not had beautiful days in history, that has struggled to make a change. They are representing the change that we have here.鈥�
A lifelong ministry
The youngest son of two Pentecostal preachers, growing up in public housing, Raphael Warnock loved science. But after a failed fifth-grade attempt to hit the jackpot with a new pesticide, he began focusing on preaching, giving his first public sermon around the same time.
As a high schooler, he would visit the local library and listen to LPs of Martin Luther King Jr.鈥檚 speeches, drawn to the idea of getting the church to 鈥減ray with its feet鈥� by fighting racial injustice and oppression in society. The young Raphael followed the civil rights icon鈥檚 path, attending his alma mater and, at 35, becoming the senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church 鈥� one of the most influential Black churches in America, where Reverend King, his father, and grandfather once preached.听
Along the way, Reverend Warnock extended his ministry through social activism. He advocated for his brother, a Gulf War veteran and rookie police officer with no previous criminal record who was sentenced to life in prison after being caught in an FBI drug sting,听and was released after 22 years. He unsuccessfully tried to stay the execution of another man, convicted of killing a white off-duty police officer, after several witnesses recanted their testimony. Such experiences deepened Reverend Warnock鈥檚 resolve to address racial bias in the criminal justice system.听
鈥淚n an area like this, people wonder why ministers run for office,鈥� says Erric Michael Bostic, a听rural carrier for the U.S. Postal Service in Swainsboro, while awaiting Senator Warnock鈥檚 arrival for a campaign rally. 鈥淚 think he鈥檚 fitted for it because of his background, not in spite of his background.鈥�
Inside the darkened Swainsboro City Auditorium, the mic goes in and out as Mayor Pro Tem Bobbie Collins introduces the most high-profile Democrat anyone here can remember visiting this city of 7,500. Though Swainsboro鈥檚 population is majority Black, chronically low turnout means white Republicans tend to win most of the races here. Local activists persuaded the reverend to come 鈥� in part by telling him his opponent, who grew up in nearby Wrightsville, had already visited several times.听
When Senator Warnock takes the podium in jeans, collared shirt, and a down vest, he thanks the crowd for being part of the multiracial 鈥渃oalition of conscience鈥� that sent him and fellow Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff to the U.S. Senate last year. 听
鈥淧eople didn鈥檛 see Georgia coming. But Georgia saved the whole country,鈥� he says to cheers.听
The serious demeanor Reverend Warnock displays when striding through the U.S. Capitol in Washington, where he is one of only three Black senators, is replaced here by a pastoral听warmth.听
鈥淲e been on this journey for a while now,鈥� he says, adding: 鈥淚t may feel like we just did this.鈥� The senator was elected in January 2021 to fill out the remaining two years of his predecessor鈥檚 term and is now running for a full six-year term.听
As he ticks off some of what Democrats have accomplished with control of the Senate, from providing benefits for veterans who worked near toxic burn pits to reducing the cost of prescription drugs, the audience engages in a kind of call-and-response that feels more church than campaign trail.听
鈥淚 wrote the provision鈥撯��
鈥淎ll right!鈥� says the crowd.
鈥溾�� to cap the cost of prescription drugs [for] seniors,鈥� he says.听
鈥淵eah, thank you!鈥� the voters respond.
He adds that he also wrote another provision to cap the cost of insulin.听The senator鈥檚 efforts to expand health care coverage are a strong selling point for Salena Williams, who sometimes attends Reverend Warnock鈥檚 church when she鈥檚 in Atlanta.听
鈥淚 saw the compassion that he had for people,鈥� says Ms. Williams, who was burned in a kitchen grease fire and lost her health benefits when she took a job with greater flexibility to care for her mom. 鈥淗e鈥檚 doing the work, not just talking about it.鈥�
Senator Warnock has raised in the country, and has spent听 on the race, more than twice what Mr. Walker has spent.听Still, Democrats appear worried that the听the football star is听.听
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was caught on a hot mic telling President Joe Biden, 鈥淭he state where we鈥檙e going downhill is Georgia.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to believe that they will go for Herschel Walker,鈥� the New York Democrat added.听
Overcoming obstacles
Mr. Walker knows something about people not believing in him. As a child, he endured taunts brought on by both a stutter and chubbiness.听
鈥淗erschel is a gggirl-schel,鈥� the kids would yell. He was so desperate for friends that when his parents could spare a nickel or dime, he would sometimes offer it听to another child on the playground听in exchange for a few minutes of conversation, according to his book, 鈥淏reaking Free.鈥� Thanks to a strict regime of running and calisthenics, slotted in between school and chores, he went on to become the most highly sought-after high school football player in the country and led Georgia to a national championship.听
A fierce self-reliance led him down unorthodox paths at times 鈥撎齬amming his way through obstacles just as he did on the football field. He insisted his dentist remove his wisdom teeth without anesthesia, refused to lift weights, took ballet, and dropped out of college to play pro football, according to his book. The veracity of some of his claims, however 鈥� such as having been valedictorian of his high school class 鈥� has been questioned. Neither Johnson County High School nor the local board of education would confirm to the Monitor whether he was valedictorian; a CNN review was only able to听听that he had been an 鈥楢鈥� student.
Along the way, Mr. Walker met Donald Trump, who owned the first pro team he played on and became a mentor. The former president鈥檚听endorsement last fall allowed Mr. Walker to sail through the GOP primary.听
On the trail, Mr.听Walker has maintained an 鈥淚鈥檓 just a country boy鈥� posture, in contrast to Reverend Warnock, who holds a Ph.D. and leans into his erudition. In the run-up to the candidates鈥� only debate, the former football star tried to lower expectations, telling reporters: 鈥淚鈥檓 not that smart,鈥� but adding, 鈥淚 will do my best.鈥�
He frequently describes himself as a 海角大神 man, starting each rally by acknowledging Jesus Christ as his Lord and accusing Reverend Warnock of cherry-picking from the Bible to justify his politics 鈥� including the senator鈥檚 support for a woman鈥檚 right to choose an abortion.听鈥淚f you read the Bible more, God said, 鈥楥hoose life,鈥� 鈥� Mr. Walker said in the debate.
Critics 鈥� including Mr. Walker鈥檚 own son 鈥� have denounced his anti-abortion stance as hypocritical. The campaign has been rocked by allegations from two separate women accusing him of encouraging them to get abortions after getting them pregnant. Both women chose to remain anonymous, but this week one gave an on-camera interview with ABC News. 鈥淗e was very clear that he did not want me to have the child,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e said that because of his wife鈥檚 family and powerful people around him, that I would not be safe and that the child would not be safe.鈥�
Mr. Walker has flatly denied the allegations.听鈥淭his was a lie a week ago, and it is a lie today,鈥� he said.听Republicans also note that Senator Warnock has been dogged by personal allegations of his own. His ex-wife accused him of running over her foot with his car and,听in a听听obtained by Fox News,听calls him a 鈥済reat actor.鈥�
Still, Mr. Walker has owned up to some past mistakes,听including an affair. His ex-wife has said he tried to choke her and once held a gun up to her temple, which he told an interviewer he did not recall. In his memoir, he acknowledges having been diagnosed with dissociative identity听disorder, formerly known as multiple personality disorder, but in a says he has overcome his mental health challenges through听God鈥檚 grace.听
鈥淗e has some problems, and I just hope he has a handle on it, for his own sake,鈥� says听John Garner, a white retired mining engineer who lives outside Mr. Walker鈥檚 hometown of Wrightsville and has a Herschel sign in his front yard.听鈥淏ut he鈥檚 not a man you can count out.鈥澨�
The politics of race
Emerging from his campaign bus in Dalton, Georgia, wearing听a white polo shirt, Mr. Walker hugs a local GOP chairwoman decked out in knee-high sparkly red boots and then does a few hip circles as if warming up for a game.
On stage he uses humor and everyday metaphors to illustrate where he believes Washington is going wrong.听
鈥淚 love to spend someone else鈥檚 credit card, don鈥檛 you?鈥� he asks, poking fun at Democrats鈥� spending habits.听
He criticizes his Democratic opponent听as a magician听for听touting his role in听securing听$400 billion in听student debt relief听while not addressing where that money will come from.
鈥淗e wanted you to look at this hand,鈥� waving above his head, 鈥渁s he鈥檚 stealing from you with this hand,鈥� he adds, motioning near his pant pocket. 鈥淏ecause what he鈥檚 doing is raising your taxes. So don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 giving you anything.鈥�
Some of his biggest applause lines come when he criticizes Democrats鈥� support for transgender children, athletes, and soldiers. 鈥淚ran, Russia, and China aren鈥檛 talking about pronouns,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e talking about war.鈥澨�
鈥淲hat he says makes sense. He鈥檚 down to earth,鈥� says Shirley Henson, a GOP precinct captain and substitute high school teacher who 鈥� like nearly everyone at this rally 鈥� is white. She particularly appreciates Mr. Walker鈥檚 support for law enforcement and his call to stop the influx across the southwest border of fentanyl 鈥� a potent drug that was found in her daughter鈥檚 body after she died suddenly. 听
An hour east through the mountains in Jasper, Mr. Walker speaks in front of a gun shop to another group of largely white supporters, some of whom have holsters on their hip. Connie, a former Democrat who doesn鈥檛 want to give her last name, says she likes what he has to say about inflation and the economy. She isn鈥檛 bothered by the various scandals that have hit his campaign, most of which she thinks are lies.听
鈥淚 know Herschel had problems in the past,鈥� she says. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 a believer in redemption.鈥�
Part of the calculus for Republicans in this formerly deep-red state is that Mr. Walker can win among white conservatives but also potentially peel off a number of Black voters. Indeed, Corey Bruno, a Black independent voter in Atlanta who is a 鈥渉uge fan鈥� of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, says he is considering voting for Mr. Walker.
鈥淲arnock is alright,鈥� he shrugs, but raises concerns about having a pastor involved so directly in politics. Mr. Bruno says he knows about the accusations against Mr. Walker, but is intrigued by the idea of sending someone he regards as a folk hero to Washington.
Other Black voters, however, are scornful of what they see as a cynical ploy by the GOP to win their votes.听鈥淚 don鈥檛 care about race, I care about having qualified people in Washington,鈥� says Latasha Glass, a Democrat from Atlanta.
Warnock supporter Shayna Boston, a Black entrepreneur in Swainsboro, says Mr. Walker doesn鈥檛 even appear to be trying to reach out to the Black community there. 鈥淗e鈥檚 talking to people that don鈥檛 look like us,鈥� she says.听
Mr. Walker rejects identity politics and听criticizes his opponent鈥檚 focus on race, invoking Dr. King鈥檚 hope听that people would come to be judged听not by听the color of their skin听but by the content of their character. Critics say he鈥檚 allowing white Republicans to avoid grappling with racial injustice.
It鈥檚 a familiar criticism, going back to high school, when he did not stand in solidarity with his Black peers after the white principal made a racially charged comment toward a student, igniting protests.听
鈥淚 never really liked the idea that I was to represent my people,鈥� Mr. Walker later wrote about the incident in his book. 鈥淢y parents raised me to believe that I represented humanity.鈥澨�
Editor鈥檚 note: This story was updated to correct the name of the university where Prof. Owen teaches.听
