Rick Scott touts Herschel Walker, not other GOP candidates

Sen. Rick Scott. Image via NRSC.

U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, who also chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has vowed to remain neutral in competitive Senate Primaries in 2022. But in the case of the Georgia race, it’s beginning to appear that only one candidate is worth mentioning.

Scott was on Tuesday afternoon’s Guy Benson Show on Fox News Radio, where the Florida Senator was asked about whether Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock could be beaten.

“We just released a poll that shows Herschel Walker beating Raphael Warnock right now,” Scott said. “And Raphael Warnock has spent a lot more money than Herschel Walker has so far, so that would make you feel better.”

Scott added that there would be a Primary, but all indications are that he is accepting that Walker, a former Georgia Bulldogs footballer who has the blessing of both Donald Trump and Fox News primetime hosts, is likely to carry the ball in 2022 for the GOP.

In October, Scott was more careful to act as if there was some sort of functional parity in the race.

“Herschel Walker is running a good race. We’ve got Gary Black, the Ag Commissioner down in Georgia. We’ve got Latham Saddler. And we’ve got a businessman/veteran Kelly King down in Georgia,” Scott said on the Hugh Hewitt Show.

“Right now, everybody would say Herschel’s going to win. He’s running a good race,” said Scott.

Public opinion surveys show the race is Walker’s to lose. One poll has 75% of Republicans backing Walker, with no other candidate receiving more than 6%.

The Republican has raised nearly $4 million in a still nascent campaign, the best numbers in the Primary field, but still behind Warnock, who hauled in a record-setting $9.5 million in the third quarter of 2021. The Hill reports Warnock had more than $17 million on hand in his most recent campaign finance filing.