Sen. Raphael Warnock weaponizes Trump's 2024 announcement and endorsement of Herschel Walker in Georgia runoff

• Sen. Raphael Warnock is weaponizing Donald Trump's endorsement of his campaign rival, Herschel Walker, in a new ad.
• The ad spotlights Trump and shows Walker "surrounds himself with some of the most divisive politicians."

Georgia Republican Herschel Walker's Senate campaign has been plagued by allegations that he was hiding "secret" children and that he paid for a former girlfriend's abortion. This week, the former athlete player explained to voters why he would rather be a werewolf than a vampire in a bizarre stump speech.

Even so, Walker's Democratic rival, Sen. Raphael Warnock, is relying in a new ad on a different piece of baggage to hurt Walker: former President Donald Trump.

The 30-second ad spotlights Trump's endorsement of Walker as he and Warnock head toward a runoff election in December, since neither candidate won 50% during the midterm election.

"We must all work very hard for a gentleman and a great person named Herschel Walker, a fabulous human being who loves our country and will be a great United States senator," Trump says in the ad, urging a crowd to vote for him. "He was an incredible athlete. He'll be an even better senator."

The tagline at the end says "Stop Donald Trunp" and "Stop Herschel Walker."

Warnock for Georgia Campaign Manager Quentin Fulks in a statement said Walker "surrounds himself with some of the most divisive politicians in Washington, so it's no surprise that he has Donald Trump's endorsement. This is yet another reason Georgians will turn out to vote for Reverend Warnock on December 6."

Trump on Tuesday night announced his third bid for the presidency as Republicans are furious and blaming him for failing to achieve a so-called "red wave" in midterm elections. Many Republicans thought he should wait to announce his candidacy.

Democrats flipped Georgia's two Senate seats in 2020 during runoff elections at the end of Trump's presidency.

American Bridge 21st Century is also running anti-Walker ads in Georgia focused on the candidate. Drew Godinich, the committee's senior director of communications, said, "even with Trump's baggage, Herschel Walker remains the biggest threat to Republicans' hopes of winning this race."