U.S. Senate candidate Gary Black appeared at Common Ground in downtown Cornelia Thursday, speaking to a crowd of several dozen local leaders and supporters. During the Thursday fundraiser, Black took aim at Democrats and targeted fellow Republican primary candidate Herschel Walker for past allegations of aggressive behavior.
Following an introduction by Partnership Habersham Executive Director Charlie Fiveash,
Black, a Jackson County native, took to the stage and delivered familiar rhetoric intended to fire up his base.
“You’ve got to be encouraged about the possibility of re-taking – with our work and our dedication – of re-taking Georgia’s Senate seat,” Black said, referring to Sen. Raphael Warnock’s defeat of Kelly Loeffler in Georgia’s Senate runoff race in January.
Black asked voters to “stand on [conservative] principles,” which he described as “fundamental” to the nation.
“Are we going to experiment with things again?” Black asked the crowd. “Or are we going to have trusted experience that can lead? That’s the choice before Georgians - that’s the choice for Americans.”
After describing the Democratic Party platform as a “radical agenda,” specifically criticizing Pres. Joe Biden’s highly-debated Build Back Better plan, Black urged Republican voters to become “radical Americans again.”
“That’s what I’m prepared to do,” Black said, following the call for radicalization. “How do you accomplish that? Is it trusted experience, or is it an experiment? We don’t have time for experiments.”
Black then went after Walker and suggested the former University of Georgia running back isn’t qualified to serve in the U.S. Senate after Black cited past allegations of violence and alleged domestic abuse Walker has been accused of.
“I’ve been asked 100 times, at least, ‘What about Herschel [Walker]?’ By his own admission, Herschel Walker is an abuser of women. He has done so by stalking them. He has done so by threatening violent language. He has done so by strangling, and he has done so with the use of knives and guns, with threats of deadly force,” Black said, calling the past allegations against Walker a “disqualifying characteristic” for a U.S. Senator that has “no place in the halls of the United States.”
Walker, though never officially convicted of domestic violence crimes, has been accused of aggressive behavior by two former female partners, one of which sought a protective order against Walker in 2005, according to the AJC, after allegedly receiving threats.
Black went on to call on his supporters to become more vocal in their opposition to both Walker and Democrats, specifically Pres. Biden and Sen. Warnock.
“I will make this race about the Biden-Warnock record,” Black said. “If my name is not on this ballot, this race will be about Herschel Walker and the future of the Senate and future of this republic will hang in the balance of that.”
Black, when asked about his top priorities if he’s elected, told The Northeast Georgian that national and economic security were among the issues he considers central to U.S. interests.
“Serving the military and having good strategies when it comes to protecting the nation - that’s really important,” Black said. “Securing the nation is also border security. Security of economy [and] of our economy and jobs. I believe all the things that are being proposed right now are actually sacrificing our security in the economy.”
Black said he would seek to work with Democrats in the Senate if elected, naming agriculture as an issue the two parties could find agreement on.
“Coming from my background of agriculture –agriculture is very rarely partisan,” Black said. “It’s usually regional in nature.”