U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock is out with a closing ad as voters prepare to hit the polls Tuesday for the Georgia runoff between the incumbent Democrat and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
The spot highlights various portions of speeches in which Walker seemingly rambles about senseless topics, including a viral video in which he compared a movie about vampires and werewolves to the Georgia Senate race and contemplated whether it was better to be a vampire or a werewolf (Walker chose the latter.)
“What the hell is he talking about?” an older woman, wearing headphones, says in reaction.
“Is he serious? Is he for real,” another younger woman chuckles as she watches the clip.
“Y’all serious about this, right” a man questions with a look of confusion.
The ad then pivots to another clip of Walker sharing an anecdote about a bull and six cows, three of which were pregnant, that Mediaite described as a “janky parable.”
“So, I been telling this little story about this bull out in the field with six cows, and three of them are pregnant. So you know he got something goin’ on,” Herschel says in the clip, which was meant to signify the United States as the best country in the world, and that what may seem greener pastures, aren’t. But to some, it seemed oddly related to reports about Walker’s past relationships, abortions he allegedly funded and semi-secret fathers with whom he’s had limited relationships with.
“What on earth,” an exasperated woman groans as the clip plays.
“There’s no substance. There’s nothing,” yet another comments.
“It makes me want to laugh, and then it makes me think we’re in trouble,” a man explains after watching the clips.
“No one is watching this and being like, ‘oh man, that guy’s got it together,” another muses.
In a final reaction, a man describes the clips as “embarrassing.”
“Let’s call it what it is,” he says.
The ad is fashioned after a style of video that shows various groups of people reacting to viral videos — whether children reacting to their parents’ music or seniors reacting to TikTok videos, for example.
Their words portend a general message Democrats have been trying to convey about Walker as they cast him as an unfit leader rife with gaffes and scandal. But it is perhaps the voters’ facial expressions that tell the bigger story. Each looks shocked by Walker’s words. There’s eye-rolling, face-covering, jaws dropping, even gasps as the viewers watch the clips.
The ad comes after early voting in Georgia wrapped on Friday, with turnout reaching nearly 26%. Of those who have already voted, more than half were Democrats. Republicans cast less than 42% of the early or absentee ballots, according to L2 voter data. GOP voters are expected to bridge that gap on Election Day Tuesday and polls show a tight race between the two candidates.
Turnout is expected to play a large role in the outcome of the election, which would give Democrats a 51/49 majority in the Senate if Warnock retains his seat. Warnock earned about 37,000 more votes than Walker in the November General Election, but didn’t reach the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff. He’ll need to repeat that performance to secure victory in the runoff. Walker, meanwhile, received about 200,000 fewer votes than Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the November election and is looking to motivate Kemp voters to show up for his this Tuesday.
