Trump supporter and former NFL star Herschel Walker is officially running for Senate in the state of Georgia despite a controversial history that includes allegedly threatening to murder his ex-wife.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Walker launched his campaign on Tuesday after spending months teasing a potential run.
Walker has high name recognition in the state, as he won the Heisman Trophy in the 1980s when he was a star running back at the University of Georgia.
However, the Journal-Constitution notes that some Republicans in the state are nervous about his candidacy against incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA).
"But many senior Republicans worry that Walker will inevitably stumble against Warnock, who has become a fundraising powerhouse and national figure since defeating," the paper writes. "Walker has a history of violent and erratic behavior, some of which he's attributed to his struggles with mental illness."
Divorce papers obtained by the Associated Press earlier this year revealed that Walker's ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, in the past leveled several allegations of violent and abusive behavior against him.
"Grossman has said she was long a victim of Walker's impulses," the AP reported. "She told ABC News that at one point during their marriage, her husband pointed a pistol at her head and said, 'I'm going to blow your f'ing brains out.' She filed for divorce in 2001, citing 'physically abusive and extremely threatening behavior.'"
Walker allegedly continued his threatening behavior even after separating from Grossman, and Grossman's family members said Walker contacted them and told them that he would murder her and a man whom she had started dating after leaving Walker.
