Faced with classic issues of this electoral period (inflation, the right to abortion, the threat of authoritarianism), the Republican candidate for the 50th seat of the United States Senate, who is voted on Tuesday in Georgia, has other things on his mind.
“Vampires are great people, aren't they? But I have discovered that a werewolf can kill a vampire. Did you know? I do not. And I don't want to be a vampire anymore, I want to be a werewolf," Herschel Walker said at a rally. Walker, a former football player, was nominated thanks to Donald Trump.
His comment did not go unnoticed by former President Barack Obama, who came last week to support the Democratic candidate, Pastor Raphael Warnock, an African-American like his rival. For Warnock, what is at stake is renewing the position, which for his would be seat 51.
“Since the last time I came here,” Obama said, “Walker has talked about issues of great importance to citizens, like whether it is better to be a werewolf or a vampire. It's a debate I had myself when I was seven years old. Then I matured."
Conservative leaders do not hide their distrust. Both the Walker campaign and the Georgia Republican Party sent emails calling for an “election night party” on Tuesday, instead of calling for a “victory celebration” as they did on November 8. It's a small difference, but Republican activists have been amazed.
The long lines to vote early, with an already established record of almost two million ballots deposited, look bad for the conservative, whose candidacy is being analyzed from the perspective of considering whether Trump's political weight declines. The former president, surrounded by legal disputes, formalized his next fight to return to the White House after being considered the main factor in the not-so-good result of his party in the mid-term elections. It was bad for them especially those he blessed.
A defeat for Walker means that Trump's aspirations lose steam compared to other Republicans, at a time when the prestige of the former president is on the decline with controversies such as the dinner with the supremacist Nick Fuentes or his order to suspend the Constitution, which adds to his seditious attempt in January 2021. On the contrary, if the Republican wins, Trump will score the goal.
After neither one nor the other reached, as established by the state, 50% of the vote (Warnock 49.4% and Walker 48.5%), the tiebreaker has lost some of its excitement. The Democrats, with their 50 confirmed seats, will maintain a majority in the Senate. But achieving 51 would give them more control over the House and its committees, as well as losing dependence on moderates Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema.
“Having 50 seats is great, but having 51 is even better,” said Chuck Schumer, Democratic Majority Leader.
No analyst, however, takes Walker for dead. Republicans can mobilize to the cry of "against Biden" and forget again that their candidate speaks against abortion, and at the same time women come out saying that he paid for the intervention to terminate their pregnancy. So it is not ruled out that he resurrects like vampires.
