The Republican nominee in the Senate race in Georgia Herschel Walker will reportedly reap a tax benefit meant for people who hold a primary residence in Texas, CNN and The New York Times reported.
Mr Walker grew up in Wrightsville, Georgia and played football at the University of Georgia, where he won the Heisman Trophy. But he relocated to Texas when he played for the Dallas Cowboys and it became his primary residence for decades.
When he announced he would challenge Democratic incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock, he changed his voter registration to his home state.
But publicly available tax records show that Mr Walker is set to receive a homestead tax exemption in Tarrant County, Texas, which would save him $1,500 and has received the tax break since 2012.
The tax break is meant for people who claim Texas as their home of primary residence. The Texas comptroller’s office says that “you do not establish a principal residence elsewhere, you intend to return to the home, and you are away less than two years.”
The United States Constitution requires Senate candidates reside in the state in which they run, but Mr Walker’s tax claim shows that he still considers Texas his primary residence.
Mr Walker is currently competing against Mr Warnock for a runoff race on 6 December after neither candidate won a majority of the vote in the November general election.
His Democratic opponent Mr Warnock criticised Mr Walker for claiming Georgia his main residence.
“.@HerschelWalker claims his primary residence is in Texas. How can he be our senator in Georgia?” his campaign tweeted.
It also included a video of Mr Warnock citing Mr Walker’s football career.
“Herschel Walker was a great running back,” he said. “And we getting ready to send him running back to Texas.”
