McConnell backs ex-football star Walker for Georgia Senate

By BRIAN SLODYSKO
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has endorsed Herschel Walker for the Senate in Georgia. That lends the clout of the highest-ranking elected GOP official in the country to the candidacy of a former football star whose turbulent personal history could create problems for his general election campaign. Walker is the odds-on favorite to win the Republican primary next May. He’s seeking the chance to unseat Democrat Raphael Warnock, the state’s first Black senator, and help the GOP regain control of the Senate. Walker has the backing of former President Donald Trump. McConnell was initially cool to a Walker candidacy. But by endorsing him now, McConnell can sidestep what could have been a messy intraparty fight with Trump.