In a campaign speech earlier this year, Herschel Walker, the Republican nominee for the US Senate in Georgia, said, “I live in Texas.”
The U.S. Constitution states that senators must be 30 years old, have been citizens for nine years, and “should … if elected, be residents of the state for which they are to be elected.”
Republicans were seared by a similar issue earlier this year in another close Senate race. In Pennsylvania, Democratic candidate John Fetterman focused on questions about whether his opponent, television doctor Mehmet Oz, actually lived in New Jersey. Fetterman eventually won convincingly.
Control of the Senate has already been decided, but a victory in Georgia would give the Democrats absolute control by a score of 51-49.
Walker will face Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock in a runoff next Tuesday, a contest sparked when Warnock received the most votes on Election Day but failed to get 50% of the vote. The polls put the two candidates close to eye-to-eye, with early voting hitting record levels.
Backed by Donald Trump, Walker has drawn controversy over his business record, alleged encouragement of abortion, family ties and more.
A University of Georgia football star, he later played for the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL. Earlier this month, CNN reported that he was benefiting from a tax break on a Dallas home that has been designated as his primary residence.
Returning to the well on Tuesday, CNN reported that in January, while speaking about immigration policy in a speech to Republicans at the University of Georgia, Walker said, “I live in Texas … I’ve pushed the limits on and off sometimes.” .”
Walker also said, “Everyone asks me why I decided to run for a Senate seat? Because to be honest, I never thought in my life that I would ever do that. And that’s the honest truth.
“My Home in Texas”: Republican candidate for Georgia delivers campaign speech – video
“When I sat in my home in Texas, I sat in my home in Texas and I saw what was going on in this country. I saw what was going on in this country, how they were trying to divide people.”
CNN also said Walker has given at least four interviews about his Georgia run from his home in Texas.
When CNN first reported on Walker’s Texas tax breaks, Georgia State University law professor Anthony Michael Kreis told the network, “This is more of a political than a legal issue … where Walker can be painted as a carpet digger.”
This week, however, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that a legal complaint had been filed in which “state investigators … are investigating whether … Walker broke the law by receiving a tax break on his Texas home, even for The main resident of this state is definitely he is a candidate for a federal office in Georgia”.
The newspaper noted that Walker registered to vote in Georgia in August 2021, just before declaring his candidacy.
State Democratic Party chair Nikema Williams told AJC Walker he may have “lied about living in Georgia.”
“Georgians deserve answers,” the US congresswoman said, “and Walker must be held accountable for his pattern of lying and disturbing behavior.”
The Walker campaign did not comment.
