Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker said Tuesday that he knows the identity of the former girlfriend alleging that he paid for her to have an abortion in 2009 — but insisted that the woman is lying about the payment.
“I know nothing about an abortion,” Walker told ABC News. “I knew it was a lie and I said it was a lie — and I just move on.”
“It’s sad that people say October surprise, but you’re destroying families,” the former football star added.
Walker, who is locked in a tight race with incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock that could determine which party controls the Senate for the next two years, added that he has not spoken with the woman since the allegations were made and maintains that he is “a Christian” and “pro-life.”
The payment was first reported by the Daily Beast last week. That outlet and the New York Times say the woman has shown them a receipt from an abortion clinic, a $700 check she claims to be from Walker, and a “get well” card she says the Heisman Trophy winner sent her after the procedure.
Both outlets have also reported claims by the woman that she became pregnant by Walker two years after the abortion, in 2011, and ignored his requests to terminate the pregnancy.
Republican Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker insists his ex-girlfriend is lying about his alleged abortion payment. ABC News
Walker is in a contentious battle against Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock. Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
Walker signs a football for a pro-life supporter during a campaign stop in Carrollton, Georgia, on Oct. 11, 2022. JESSICA MCGOWAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock“I believe in life. I’m a Christian, I believe in life,” Walker insisted Tuesday. “I want to save as many babies as I can.”
“I told everyone, I’m not running because I want to be a senator, I’m running because I’m sick and tired,” he added. “People are dying, people can’t eat, because of the people in Washington, what they’re doing to people — and then they lie. This is not a new normal.”
On Friday, Walker and Warnock will meet for their first and only televised debate before the Nov. 8 election. Walker trails Warnock by 3.3 percentage points, according to a Real Clear Politics average of polls.
