Herschel Walker Leans Into His Georgia Football Icon Status Ahead of Runoff

  • His Georgia football hero history stirs ‘Dawg Nation’
  • Democrats worry past gridiron success will win voters
Herschel Walker rushes the ball for the University of Georgia in 1981.Photographer: Ronald C. Modra/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images
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Herschel Walker’s prominence as a Georgia college football icon has always been a vital part of his political appeal, cushioning him at times as a series of allegations about his truthfulness and past behavior added up. Now he stands to gain from a fortuitous quirk of timing, when the Georgia Bulldogs play a championship game in Atlanta just days before his Senate runoff against Raphael Warnock.

For some Georgia voters, cheering on the top-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs can’t help but remind them of the star running back’s exploits - when he led those same Bulldogs to the national college football championship four decades ago. And that has some Democrats worried.