Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Sunday said Herschel Walker, the Republican Senate nominee in Georgia, should “come clean” and “be honest” if he did in fact pay for an abortion in 2009, a revelation made last week.
Bacon told guest host Kristen Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he still supports Walker and that his advice to the candidate would be to acknowledge his mistakes.
“Herschel needs to come clean and just be honest. We also know that we all make mistakes. And it’s just better if this actually did happen to say, ‘I’m sorry’ and ask for forgiveness,” Bacon said. “I think it’s just best to be candid. I’ve learned that in my own life. Be candid. Be honest.”
Walker faced a storm of criticism after The Daily Beast reported last week that he paid for the mother of one of his children to have an abortion in 2009. He also allegedly pressed her to terminate a second pregnancy, but she refused.
The Senate candidate, who is in a close race with Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.) in the midterm election, has denied the reports. The Hill has not independently verified The Daily Beast’s reporting.
Walker has been accused of hypocrisy for allegedly paying for an abortion but campaigning as a hard-line GOP candidate with strict views on abortion access.
Bacon on Sunday said, “You want to walk the talk and talk the walk. You want to have cohesion with your message.”
“But people also make mistakes. I’m surely not a flawless person by no means. I have made my own mistakes in life. And Herschel has too. We all have,” the GOP lawmaker said. “I think it’s better just to be honest.”
“And I think that that’s the principle that we need to focus on as a Republican Party,” he added.