Late Wednesday night, the news cycle involving an allegation that GOP Senate hopeful Herschel Walker paid for his ex-girlfriend’s abortion took another turn, again with a story from the Daily Beast. The outlet reported that the woman at the center of the allegation is the mother of one of Walker’s children.
NBC News has not independently verified either allegation and the woman at the center says she asked the Daily Beast not to name her for privacy concerns. Walker said in a new statement Wednesday night: “As I have already said, there is no truth to this or any other Daily Beast report.”
The revelation continues the saga focused on Walker, who is locked in a tight race against Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. Walker has tried to use the allegations as a unifying moment for Republicans like South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz , who have brushed aside the allegations and continue to call for Republicans to rally around him.
Walker’s campaign says it raised $500,000 between Monday night and mid-Wednesday. And the campaign released a new video where he sidesteps the allegations, notes his mental health struggles and criticizes Warnock.
Even so, this story appears unlikely to go away anytime soon. Other Republicans are rattled, and Walker notably does not appear to have filed the defamation lawsuit he immediately claimed he would in order to clear his name. And on top of that, he’s still trailing in resources — while Walker’s campaign announced Wednesday it raised $12 million from July through September, his Democratic rival raised $26 million over the same period.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
Iowa Senate: Former Chinese Ambassador and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., endorsed GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley for re-election.
North Carolina Senate: Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is reserving an additional $4 million in TV ads in the race, with ads launching next week, according to spending figures shared first with NBC News. That brings the group’s investment in boosting Democrat Cheri Beasley to $10.5 million.
Ohio Senate: Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan fundraising announced a $17.2 million third quarter haul, per a press release. The Associated Press reported that Ryan received campaign contributions over the last 15 years from three companies tied to the opioid crisis, which Ryan’s campaign noted the donations are a small fraction of what Ryan has raised over those years.
New Hampshire Senate: The Associated Press reports that Republican nominee Don Bolduc has again shifted his public stance on whether the 2020 presidential election was legitimate. He’s repeatedly echoed false claims about the election but has changed his tune since becoming the nominee.
Pennsylvania Senate: A new Monmouth University poll found a close Senate race, with 48% of registered voters saying they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Democratic Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, while 43% said the same about Republican Mehmet Oz. Fetterman announced Thursday morning that his campaign raised $22 million in the third fundraising quarter.
Fetterman is also holding events Thursday with Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. And the Democrat’s campaign manager took to Twitter Wednesday to criticize a Democratic PAC for trying to fundraise off of the race.
Arizona Governor/Secretary of State: During a speech in Tempe, Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney told voters that if they “care about democracy” an “care about the survival of our republic” that they need to reject Republican nominees for governor and secretary of state, Kari Lake and Mark Finchem respectively.
Kansas Governor: Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the GOP nominee for governor, did not call for additional restrictions on abortion during a Wednesday debate, following Kansas voters’ recent rejection of a ballot initiative that could have opened the door to further restrictions, per the New York Times.
Oregon Governor: New fundraising reports show independent Betsy Johnson leading the fundraising field thanks to some new six-and-seven figure donations, per The Oregonian, which also reports the Republican and Democratic Governors Association sent seven-figure donations recently to their candidates too.
