Herschel Walker to make first public appearance since entering Senate race at Georgia football game

Former NFL star Herschel Walker is set to make his first public appearance since entering the Georgia Senate race last month — and it won’t be for his campaign to unseat Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). 

Walker will attend the University of Georgia’s football home opener on Saturday, where he’ll reunite with teammates from his days playing for the Bulldogs. The planned appearance was first reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The home opener will be the first time since November 23, 2019, that UGA’s Sanford Stadium will be at full capacity. 

Walker, former President Trump’s pick to go up against Warnock in 2022, has kept a relatively low profile since entering the Georgia Senate race on Aug. 25. 

He’s made a handful of appearances on Fox News and affiliated outlets, and has attended a fundraiser. But he has so far avoided holding the kind of campaign rallies typical for Senate candidates running for competitive seats.

Walker is the early favorite to win the GOP nomination to take on Warnock next year, given his celebrity athlete status in Georgia and friendship with Trump, who remains the Republican Party’s most influential figure. 

Months prior to his Senate announcement, Trump publicly encouraged Walker to jump into the race. The former president made his endorsement of Walker official last week, saying the former football star “embodies ‘America First’ and the winning spirit of Georgia.”

Still, Walker has some competition in the GOP primary, and Democrats are already investing heavily in Georgia as they look to hold a Senate seat that they successfully flipped in January.