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Republican U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker has been embroiled in accusations that he paid a former girlfriend to have a 2009 abortion as the tight Georgia senatorial race enters its final stretch.
Walker, 60, a former football star who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has faced days of national headlines amid an evolving story about a woman who is also the mother of one of his four children.
It remains to be seen how recent events will affect the race, in which Walker is hoping to unseat Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock.
It remains tight with less than a month until the midterm elections, but the latest InsiderAdvantage/Fox 5 poll on Tuesday night saw the Republican drop a further two points behind Warnock, trailing by 3 percent.
Here's a timeline of this week's events.
Monday
The Daily Beast published an article on Monday that said Walker had paid an unnamed woman to have an abortion in 2009. The woman in question was an ex-girlfriend of his.
That article reported that the woman had a $575 receipt from an abortion clinic, a "get well" card from Walker, and a bank-deposit receipt that included the image of a signed $700 personal check from him.
Walker said the story was false and that he would sue The Daily Beast. On the same day, his son Christian criticized him, accusing him of "lying" and saying: "You're not a 'family man' when you left us to bang a bunch of women, threatened to kill us, and had us move over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence."
The Republican candidate also appeared on Fox News on Monday evening to say once more that the story was false.
During his conversation with Fox News' Sean Hannity, Walker did not deny that he may have given the woman a $700 check, saying: "I send money to a lot of people."
Tuesday
By Tuesday morning, many Republicans had rallied around Walker as interest in The Daily Beast's story continued.
Importantly for his Senate campaign, former President Trump backed him and was joined by Senator Rick Scott, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), as well as Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
"It's very important for our Country and the Great State of Georgia that Herschel Walker wins this Election," Trump wrote on his social-media channel Truth Social in a now-deleted post. "With all that Herschel has accomplished, when you come from Georgia and you see the name Herschel Walker when voting, it will be very hard to resist. Don't!"
Christian Walker released a video on Tuesday that appeared to take aim at Republicans backing his father.
"Everything has been a lie," he said in the video posted to Twitter. "So for the right to say I'm being suspicious for saying, 'Hey, I'm done with the lies'--well, you all have been calling me saying, 'Is this true about your dad? We're not gonna win Georgia.' That's been you. You have no idea what I've been through in my life."
Wednesday
The Daily Beast reported on Wednesday that the woman who alleges Walker paid for an abortion in 2009 is also the father of her child. Walker has three children other than Christian Walker, but that fact was not publicly known until reports by The Daily Beast.
Christian took to Twitter on Wednesday and posted a now-deleted tweet that read: "God will not be mocked."
In another tweet, he wrote: "Wear a condom, damn," in what many viewed as a reference to his father.
Thursday
Walker told conservative talk-show host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday that he hasn't talked to his son Christian since the controversies arising from The Daily Beast's article.
"I think he's extremely hurt from that, and that was totally, totally not true," Walker told Hewitt. "That's what's so sad, and we haven't talked about it.
"And you know, then [the abortion story] came out, and that's why I say I love him. I love Christian. I love him with all my heart. And you know, he's a young man now. And so when he's ready, I'm here. He can talk to me."
Friday
The New York Times reported on Friday that the woman at the center of The Daily Beast's story has alleged that Walker wanted her to have a second abortion in 2011, but she chose to have her son instead.
The newspaper spoke to the woman, maintaining her anonymity, and she criticized Walker's approach to his now-10-year-old son. Her allegation that Walker wanted her to have a second abortion has not been independently confirmed.
"As a father, he's done nothing. He does exactly what the courts say, and that's it," the woman said. "He has to be held responsible, just like the rest of us. And if you're going to run for office, you need to own your life."
Walker also told NBC News on Friday that he had confirmed the identity of the woman when she communicated with his wife through text message and made the allegation that he had paid for the abortion.
"The first I knew about any of this was when some reporter asked me about an abortion. And I'm like, 'No, that's a lie.' And then I was asked if I paid for an abortion, and I said, 'No. I did not pay for an abortion,'" Walker told NBC News.
"I'm not saying she did or didn't have one. I'm saying I don't know anything about that. I don't know," he said.
Newsweek has asked the Walker campaign for comment.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more