ATLANTA — With a scrum of TV cameras and reporters waiting outside the doors, First Baptist Atlanta’s senior pastor, Anthony George, led a group of evangelical Christians in prayer for embattled GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker Tuesday.
In video of the closed-door event reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, George called the GOP Senate nominee, “Our fellow conqueror, our brother, our friend.”
George prayed as about 75 “prayer warriors for Herschel” circled Walker with their hands outstretched.
“Lord, we know this is a battle he’s facing. It’s more vicious than any sports field he’s ever played on. This is the fight of his life, holy God,” George said. “We ask you to rebuke the devil … Satan will not get the victory. We know, whatever the results of this election, Herschel wins.”
Walker was at the church for a “Herschel Walker Prayer Luncheon,” on the day after a bombshell Daily Beast story accusing the former football star of paying for a former girlfriend’s abortion in 2009. That’s in stark contrast to his current position that all abortions should be illegal.
The AJC has not been able to substantiate the allegations in the Daily Beast story.
But even more challenging for the Walker campaign has been the scathing response of Walker’s son, Christian, who went to social media to detail the abuse he said he and his mother suffered because of Walker.
“How DARE YOU LIE and act as though you’re some “moral, Christian, upright man,” the younger Walker wrote on Twitter. “You’ve lived a life of DESTROYING other peoples lives. How dare you.”
Inside a meeting room at First Baptist, Walker described himself as “a sinner” and detailed his experience seeking treatment for a mental illness years ago.
“I remember sitting in this hospital and thinking, ‘These people are crazy. I’m not like them,’” Walker said. “And all of the sudden, I realized we all fall short of the glory of God. … I was speaking God’s name, but I was not living God’s life.”
Walker did not speak in detail about the media storm engulfing his campaign, but told the audience “God has prepared me for a moment like this. I’ve got Jesus with me and no weapon formed against me shall prosper.”
Also in the audience were Ralph Reed, the longtime evangelical leader and founder of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, and Chris Leader from the America First Policy Institute. Walking into the event, Reed told CNN’s Manu Raju the Daily Beast story was “gutter politics.”
When George asked Walker if there was anything specific he and the group could do to help him, Walker said, “Just pray for Julie and my family, all my family.”
With Election Day less than six weeks away, the focus now turns to what, if any, political fallout will follow for Walker’s campaign for Senate.
Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, a Democrat, said her mayoral runs taught her that anything that happens in the final weeks of a campaign is crucial.
“Walker supporters are entrenched. But swing voters and independents will pay attention to the latest Walker news,” she said.
“I learned winning requires addition not subtraction. Every vote lost in the final weeks of the campaign probably can’t be regained. Typically in campaigns the last weeks are the time to gain position and momentum.”
Following the event, Reed told the AJC, “The latest personal attack against Herschel based on an anonymous allegation that is 13 years old is unlikely to resonate with Georgia voters. Voters are far more likely to vote based on inflation, the economy, high gas prices, and the failure of Biden policies, which Rafael Warnock has supported 96% of the time.”
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