McConnell hosting fundraiser for Georgia Senate candidate Walker

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will host a fundraiser Thursday evening for Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

Walker’s campaign team confirmed the event to The Hill but did not provide any further details. The Hill has reached out to McConnell’s office for comment.

McConnell has backed Walker since his primary race, but the Senate GOP leader came under scrutiny last month after he said the House was more likely to flip red than the Senate, citing “candidate quality.”

Walker, a former NFL player and a Georgia football legend, is taking on Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who won the Senate seat in a special election runoff last year.

A new Atlanta-Journal Constitution poll released Tuesday found the two candidates locked in a virtual dead heat less than two months out from the November midterm elections, with 46 percent of voters backing Walker and 44 percent supporting Warnock.

A separate Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Warnock was ahead of Walker 52 percent to 46 percent.

The candidates are participating in a televised debate on Oct. 14 with Savannah, Ga., Nexstar affiliate WSAV. The Hill is owned by Nexstar.