Herschel Walker, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, is denying recent Daily Beast reports that he paid a former girlfriend to have an abortion and that the woman is the mother of one of his children.
In an interview Thursday morning with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Walker reiterated his denials of the Daily Beast’s reports.
“I know that’s not true. I know that’s not true, and they keep telling me things like that, and it’s totally, totally untrue,” Walker said on the “Hugh Hewitt Show.” “And I’m not sure why that would be said. I don’t know anything about a woman’s abortion. And they can keep coming at me like that, and they do it because they want to distract people.”
In a confused response, Walker repeatedly brought up that he had already been forgiven. And although she has campaigned for a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks pregnant, Walker suggested to Hewitt that she would not have been ashamed to have undergone the procedure.
“I hate to say I’m born again, but I have a new life. And I’ve been moving forward, and if that had happened, I would have said it, because there’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Walker said. “You know, people have done it, but I don’t know anything about it. And if I knew, I’d be honest and talk about it, but I don’t know anything about it.”
The Daily Beast reported Monday that Walker had paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009, and that the woman had provided proof of their relationship, along with a “cool” card Walker had sent her after the procedure. After Walker publicly denied the story as an “outright lie” and said he didn’t know who the ex-girlfriend might be, the woman, who the Daily Beast had kept anonymous, went back to the press to say she was the mother of one of Walker’s sons.
“Of course I was surprised, but I guess I’m not surprised either, that maybe there are so many of us that he doesn’t really remember,” she told the Daily Beast. “But then again, if he really forgot about it, that’s also saying something.”
The Washington Post has not been able to independently confirm the Daily Beast reports.
Herschel Walker, the GOP U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia, denied a report that he paid for a girlfriend’s abortion in 2009 on Fox News on Oct. 3. (Video: Fox News)
“As I’ve said, there is no truth to this or any other Daily Beast report,” Walker’s campaign said in a statement Wednesday night.
Roger Sollenberger, the Daily Beast reporter who broke the stories, as well as others earlier this year about “secret” children Walker had fathered with women other than his ex-wife, said the outlet was awaiting the your reports
“I just want to point out that while Herschel Walker claims there is ‘no truth’ to either Daily Beast report, he literally confirmed *both* Daily Beast reports about his secret children,” Sollenberger said in a series of posts on Twitter. “He confirmed the reports himself and has never asked for a correction… I mean, the campaign can just get him to pull out his bank statements and see for himself.”
Walker is challenging Democratic Sen. Raphael G. Warnock in one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the year. The outcome of the race, which polls show is competitive, is expected to help determine which party controls the Senate for the next two years.
When running for the Senate, Walker has campaigned as a staunch opponent of abortion rights. He has said he opposes abortion without exception and has expressed support for a proposed national ban on the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
At a campaign event Thursday at a woodworking shop in Wadley, Ga., Walker did not address the allegations, instead launching into a speech about his childhood, football career and several other life stories. He repeatedly alluded to his faith in God and parables about the importance of staying positive, then left the stage after about 15 minutes. A small crowd of people wearing helmets cheered during Walker’s brief appearance.
After fielding a few questions, Walker once again denied the Daily Beast’s reports. He said he had not contacted any of the mothers of his children.
“The one about abortion is false. It’s a lie,” he said.
Walker insisted he “wouldn’t back down” and vowed to win the race.
“I’m here to win the seat for the people of Georgia because the people of Georgia need a winner,” he said. A small group around him broke into chants of “USA! USA!” after.
The Daily Beast’s latest reports also prompted one of Walker’s sons, who previously supported his father, to publicly criticize Walker on social media.
On Monday evening, Christian Walker alleged in a video posted to Twitter that his father “threatened to kill us” and made him and his mother move six times in six months “running away from your violence”.
“I don’t care about someone who has a bad past and has responsibilities,” Christian Walker tweeted. “But how DARE you LIE and act like you’re a ‘moral, Christian, upright man’. You’ve lived a life destroying other people’s lives. How dare you.”
Annie Linskey and Cleve R. Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.