Abrams, Warnock to team up after questions of ticket unity

August 31, 2022

Also in today’s edition of Swing State Georgia:

• Why Stacey Abrams goes into red counties.

• Donald Trump tries to rewrite Georgia history.

• If your phone rings, it might be Jon Ossoff.

---

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor, have long been close friends and political allies. Today, they’ll join forces on the trail for one of their first major campaign events together this cycle.

The afternoon event in Marietta was solidified amid reports that the two Democrats were steering separate courses. Behind in the polls, Abrams is embracing President Joe Biden and his agenda. Locked in a tighter race, Warnock is more eager to demonstrate his independence.

Though it’s not the first event they’ve attended in tandem this campaign cycle, it is the most significant one. The two are headed to the key battleground of Cobb County, once solidly Republican territory that flipped in 2016 and remains key to Democrats’ fortunes in 2022.

Questions over when and how they might campaign together were sent into overdrive Monday after a Warnock campaign event in Newnan, where the senator did not directly answer a reporter’s query about whether he would campaign with Abrams.

Instead, Warnock called her an “important leader” and praised her stance on voting rights and expanding Medicaid.

“We need a governor and a Legislature who would support that,” Warnock said.

Pressed anew on whether he planned to campaign with Abrams, Warnock again didn’t issue a direct response.

“I am on the trail every single day,” he said. “I think the pundits want to know who I’m campaigning for and who I’m campaigning with. I’m focused on Georgians.”

Soon after, word came down that the duo would appear together in Marietta.

---

WALKER HISTORY. At the same Newnan event, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock was also asked whether it was fair game to bring up Republican Herschel Walker’s history of abusing women who are close to him.

“I think this election is about who’s ready to represent Georgia,” said Warnock. “And the good news is that the people of Georgia get to decide.”

Walker’s ex-wife accused him of repeatedly threatening to shoot her. Other women, including a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, have leveled similar allegations against the former football star. Walker has said the violent behavior was the result of a mental health illness, which he has said has now been treated.

While Warnock took the high road in answering those questions, others on his side are engaging in more direct attacks.

On Wednesday morning, the pro-Warnock Senate Majority PAC unveiled a new ad targeting Walker:

“Herschel Walker has repeatedly threatened to kill his ex-wife. He held a razor to her throat and threatened to kill her. He’s accused of choking her until she passed out. He threatened a shootout with police outside her home.”

---

LISTEN UP. The latest edition of our Politically Georgia podcast is fresh and ready for you now.

We cover the latest in the Fulton County special grand jury probe into former President Donald Trump, the busy weekend in #gapol and unity — or lack thereof — on the two major tickets.

Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher — and be sure to call us at the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline with your questions at (770) 810-5297. We’ll play your question and answer it on next Friday’s episode.

---

Swing State's paid subscribers receive text alerts from our reporting team. See below for how to sign up.

---

RUBY RED. One of the hotter trends among Democrats these days is to forage for votes everywhere - even in rural Republican strongholds.

That's the game plan for Beto O'Rourke in Texas, who is running for Governor. And it's the game plan for Stacey Abrams in Georgia in her bid for Governor.