(NewsNation) — Herschel Walker’s campaign in Georgia for the U.S. Senate has received a boost in recent days and the Republican candidate is riding the momentum.
On Tuesday, Walker hosted a news conference in Atlanta at what his campaign calls a low-income housing complex owned by the church for which his opponent, Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock, is a pastor.
Walker claims that Warnock is trying to evict disadvantaged people, including veterans, and the Republican candidate has agreed to pay the rent for anyone facing eviction. Now Walker says he is standing strong as a candidate and that recent controversy is proving to be more of a distraction than a setback to his campaign.
For weeks, Walker has denied paying for his ex-girlfriend to have an abortion in 2009.
The woman, who has remained anonymous, said she paid $575 for the procedure and alleged Walker gave her a $700 check to help cover the cost.
Walker called the woman’s account a “flat-out lie.”
In an interview with NBC, however, Walker changed his story. The former pro football player turned political candidate acknowledged writing the check but said it wasn’t for an abortion.
Meanwhile, early voting is underway in Georgia.
The Republican establishment continues to support Walker, calling the abortion allegations a dirty trick drummed up by Democrats.
Many considered Walker’s performance better than expected at the debate last Friday against Warnock.
One of the more memorable moments occurred when Walker held up an honorary deputy sheriff’s badge he received from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia. A debate moderator admonished Walker for holding up what she called a prop, which is against debate rules.
On Monday, the sheriff who gave Walker the badge spoke out in the candidate’s defense.
“If Herschel’s badge is a prop, then I guess this badge I wear every day to protect the citizens, I guess it’s a prop also,” Sheriff Greg Rowland said. “But these are real badges, and I gave this to my friend for all he’d done for this country and this county.”
Audience members audibly laughed when Walker held up the badge during the debate, but the move landed with his base. His campaign now is reportedly giving voters fake plastic badges that say “I’m with Herschel.”