ATLANTA — Georgians from both sides of the aisle watching the Walker-Warnock U.S. Senate debate that took place in Savannah Friday night were cheering, jeering and ready to head to the polls. 11Alive invited activists from each party to watch the debate together.
We invited three Atlanta Republicans and Democrats, but unfortunately, the third Democrat had to cancel at the last minute. The five that could attend agreed that Republican challenger Herschel Walker exceeded their and his own low expectations about his debate skills compared to Democrat incumbent Raphael Warnock.
“I did not anticipate Hershel Walker being as prepared as he was,” Democrat Eleina Raines said. “He seemed to have utilized his debate prep well. I still don’t think that he gave the people of Georgia what they want to know, substantially what he plans to do in the U.S. Senate.”
With early voting beginning Monday, this may have been the two candidates' only time to sway voters on the fence; polls show that around one to two percent of voters are still undecided.
“I think he did a very good job at going toe to toe with Warnock,” Republican Hunter Stanley said and added later, "The public and the media put up this persona about him that he’s the guy who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. But I think he’s kind of been able to smash those preconceptions. I think he came off as confident. He did a really good job tonight.”
Stanley also said that he thought Walker was able to get his points out concisely.
“I think Georgians have always known that Herschel Walker is a champion,” Republican Katie Kyzer said, “and if there’s somebody who can't hold their own, it's Joe Biden.”
All of them noted how, during the one-hour debate, Walker repeatedly criticized Warnock for supporting the Biden Administation 96% of the time in the U. S. Senate.
“I heard a lot about 96% aligning with Joe Biden,” Democrat Atiyah Kenney said, “but outside of that, I must say there was a lot less specific policy and procedure and things that he (Walker) wanted to implement. It was great to hear Warnock speak on the things that he's done and specifics on what he plans to do.”
But Republican Allen English said what he heard was Warnock dodging questions like whether he supports expanding the U.S. Supreme Court, which Walker said he opposes.
“It's bad for both sides,” English said. "It's just bad for our country to say, well, ‘we didn't get our way, so we want to add more votes to the Supreme Court, so we can get what we want out of it.’ And I think we really should have been able to get a straight answer out of the senator on that issue."
For the most part, many potential voters have been focused on what a debate would look like between Walker and Warnock, mostly pointing at the former NFL player not being a typical politician. English, however, said he expected Walker to be prepared.
"I expected Walker to do as well as he did in the debate," English said, and added later, "I expected him to be down to earth. He’s not your every day politician, the most polished person in the room. He’s going to talk like most Georgians do, just like he’s your buddy. And I think that’s really appealing to a lot of people.”
Democrat Eleina Raines called Walker’s opposition to student loan bailouts one example of hypocrisy.
“He (Walker) was saying that we shouldn't pay someone else's loans or someone else's bills,” Raines said. "But then again, PPP loans? He has no problem with it. Tax breaks, he has no problem with it. Abatements, he has no problem with it. But only that one issue he [opposes]. So that was just super hypocritical.”
They’re ready to vote, all of them wishing that the public could have at least one more chance to see the two debate each other again. Warnock has accepted an invitation to participate in the Atlanta Press Club debate on Sunday, along with Libertarian Senate Candidate Chase Oliver. Still, as of Friday night, Walker had not accepted.
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