Republicans have reportedly been unable to define Sen. Rafael Warnock (D-GA) with a "racist stereotype," so they're scrambling to come up with another line of attack.
The GOP is trying to turn the pastor of Martin Luther King's home church into a self-serving political insider after trying and failing to brand Warnock as a radical socialist in 2020, reported Politico.
“That didn’t work, I don’t think that it will ever work,” said one Republican official involved in Senate races. “[It was] basically a racist stereotype for an angry Black man yelling from the pulpit.”
Warnock, who is only the second Black senator elected in the South since reconstruction, doubled his annual income since narrowly winning a runoff in January 2021, and Republicans are raising questions about his salary arrangement with Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he remains senior pastor.
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“Raphael Warnock has used every avenue he can find to benefit himself and his liberal bosses in Washington while having others pay for his housing, childcare and personal legal bills,” said Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). “That will certainly be part of the campaign against him this fall.”
His opponent Herschel Walker has branded Warnock a "hypocrite" who's "profiting from the people’s seat," but Republicans are wary about making the race into a personality contest between the two because Walker has been accused of domestic violence and Warnock is generally well-liked.
“He’s a bright guy and he’s a good pastor," said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA). "I like him. We just have a different philosophy. I will say positive things about Herschel, but I’m not going to say anything bad about Sen. Warnock.”
