On the Democratic side, Warnock is looking to defend the seat she narrowly won in a special election in 2021. She has one primary opponent, beauty industry professional Tamara Johnson-Shealey, but has shown little sign of representing a serious threat to him.
A general election matchup between Warnock and Walker would mark the first time that two major party candidates for the US Senate in Georgia were black.
Warnock is the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. once preached. He became Georgia’s first elected black senator when he defeated Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in 2021 weeks after Democrats won the state presidential election for the first time since 1992.
As a senator, Warnock has mocked Republican push for stricter voting rules, calling them “Jim Crow in new clothes”; he emphasized his work to bring funds home for health care, homeland security research and other projects; and he highlighted his efforts to try to limit the cost of insulin and temporarily suspend the federal gas tax.
Johnson-Shealey owned a salon and founded two professional organizations for the hair and beauty industry, according to her campaign website. Her platform calls for reparations for slavery, Medicare for all and a path to citizenship for people in the country illegally.
On the Republican side, Walker, a political newcomer, has nearly unmatched name recognition in Georgia from his days as a college football running back. He led the University of Georgia football team to a national title during the 1980 season and won the Heisman Trophy in 1982. He counts Trump as a close friend.
But some of his Republican opponents have questioned his eligibility. Walker has a history of violence against women and has made multiple mistakes on the campaign trail. He too skipped primary debates. He has been open about his long struggle with mental illness and acknowledged violent impulses.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black has made the strongest attacks on Walker, saying can’t win in November over domestic violence allegations and other problems of the past. Former Trump administration official and Navy veteran Latham Saddler questioned Walker’s readiness for a potential debate with Warnock.
The other Republican primary candidates are: retired Brigadier General Jon McColumn; contractor and Air Force veteran Kelvin King and former state representative Josh Clark.
Reference-www.washingtonpost.com