Few are clamoring for Herschel Walker’s return to politics since he flamed out in his Georgia Senate bid practically two years in the past. However they certain are all in favour of his marketing campaign money.
Georgia and nationwide Republicans, in dire want of cash, are livid that Walker is sitting on greater than $4 million in leftover marketing campaign funds and appears to don’t have any intention of utilizing it to assist the GOP or Donald Trump in the important thing battleground state in November.
With the Georgia Republican Celebration practically broke and the Republican Nationwide Committee often getting outspent by its Democratic counterpart, Republicans say Walker’s unspent thousands and thousands might go a great distance towards addressing the GOP’s money crunch.
“Those resources were solicited and given to support his candidacy as a Georgia Republican, and unless he intends to use them again for his own candidacy, I sure hope the favor would be returned,” mentioned John Watson, a former Georgia state GOP chair. “Georgia Republicans should be supported by those dollars in whatever legal fashion the campaign can.”
Because the political novice and former soccer star misplaced to Democratic Rev. Raphael Warnock within the high-profile race, he has all however disappeared from political circles. Walker had a glidepath by the first, however his marketing campaign was dogged by a number of private scandals, revealing youngsters born out of wedlock and hid abortions that undercut his conservative values marketing campaign pitch. He was constantly out fundraised by Warnock, and his marketing campaign’s technique was undermined by Walker’s interference.
After the race, Walker finally reenrolled on the College of Georgia to complete his undergraduate diploma — the identical college the place he gained a Heisman Trophy as a junior a long time in the past.
When reached by cellphone, Walker denied his seven-figure financial institution stability of unspent funds in his marketing campaign account.
“It wasn’t money left in my account. Everyone keeps saying that,” Walker mentioned.
Requested to make clear what he meant, Walker shortly ended the decision, saying he was in the midst of writing a paper. He mentioned, “we could talk about it some time” however didn’t reply to a number of additional inquiries, together with most lately final week.
A Georgia GOP strategist with data of Walker’s marketing campaign mentioned the unspent funds needs to be refunded to donors, shared with Republican committees or used to assist Trump within the 2024 contest.
“Republicans are being outspent everywhere up and down the ballot and there’s a significant sum of resources just sitting there,” mentioned the strategist, who was granted anonymity to debate the difficulty. “It could be supporting Trump, who did a ton for Herschel’s campaign.”
Walker, a former NFL operating again who entered the 2022 Georgia Senate race with Trump’s assist, ended his failed marketing campaign with greater than $5 million within the financial institution. He nonetheless had $4.3 million in his account as of the tip of March, in line with the newest monetary disclosures filed to the Federal Election Fee.
Walker did switch $100,000 to the Nationwide Republican Senate Committee’s authorized recount fund and has given round $400,000 to numerous nonprofits and charities. However the bulk of his leftover marketing campaign cash remains to be in his account.
The FEC limits what marketing campaign funds could be spent on. The cash have to be used for electioneering functions — on a marketing campaign or transferred to a different energetic committee — or Walker might donate it to charity. Walker and his treasurer stay stewards of the funds, they usually can’t switch the cash on to Walker.
However the marketing campaign money might be useful for the GOP’s backside line.
At this level within the 2020 election cycle, the Georgia Republican Celebration had $1.2 million money available. Now it stories having lower than half of that quantity. It’s additionally spending a good portion — $1.9 million for the reason that begin of 2021 — of its funds on authorized charges for Republicans charged in Fulton County District Legal professional Fani Willis’ election racketeering case, in line with the newest monetary disclosure kinds.
Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon, who fundraises for the state get together, declined to debate any private conversations he could have had with Walker in regards to the unspent marketing campaign funds.
This yr, state Republicans are centered on the presidential race and sustaining their majorities within the state legislature, and one Georgia GOP strategist, Brian Robinson, mentioned Walker’s cash would greatest be used to assist legislative candidates in aggressive districts.
“I would give directly to candidates at the legislature level because to maintain the majorities in Georgia, we’re really having to fight here,” he mentioned.
A senior nationwide Republican Celebration official mentioned Republicans haven’t heard from Walker in months and that they weren’t conscious of any get together committees or campaigns presently pursuing a verify from Walker’s previous marketing campaign account.
However Walker has been giving freely a few of his marketing campaign money, although not primarily to the get together.
Although Republicans grumble that Walker hasn’t contributed cash to the get together, the marketing campaign committee donated about $410,000, largely to nonprofits just like the Horatio Alger Affiliation, the Boys and Women Membership and Herschel’s 34 and Johnson Metropolis Class of 1980, a nonprofit that’s been registered since 2016 in Walker’s hometown of Wrightsville, Georgia, in line with FEC filings.
He additionally gave $100,000 to Polaris Motion Inc, a nationwide security-focused group that was based by Morgan Ortagus, a former Trump administration State Division official who stumped for Walker on the marketing campaign path.
“Nobody would be surprised if and when he starts spending that money that it went to any group of newly formed charities in or around Dallas, Texas,” a second Georgia GOP operative mentioned, making a reference to the place Walker lived earlier than operating for Senate in Georgia.
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
