https://www.huffpost.com/entry/senate-republicans-shrug-off-candidates-with-domestic-violence-allegations_n_615cb61ee4b06f0ef2897f2b Senate Republicans Shrug Off Candidates With Domestic Violence Allegations
Republicans could end up backing three candidates accused of domestic and sexual violence in key midterm Senate races next year. The party’s senators don’t seem to mind.
In Missouri, a woman who had an affair with former Gov. Eric Greitens said he sexually assaulted her and blackmailed her with nude photos. The estranged wife of Army veteran Sean Parnell, the leading Republican candidate in Pennsylvania, twice took out temporary protection-from-abuse orders against him. The ex-wife of Herschel Walker, the football legend who is the front-runner for the GOP nomination in Georgia, claimed in divorce records that he was physically abusive and threatened to murder her.
Walker and Parnell have the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, which is still viewed as a game-changer in GOP primary politics. More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault. Greitens is enthusiastically seeking the president’s backing.
Some GOP strategists have quietly fretted that the accusations could drag down the party as it seeks to win back suburban women who have flocked to the Democratic Party since the beginning of the Trump era. The races in Georgia and Pennsylvania, in particular, are expected to be expensive, bitterly contested and crucial to which party wins control of the Senate.
Republican senators, however, largely shrugged off concerns about the trio of candidates and their alleged offenses in interviews with HuffPost.
Republicans could end up backing three candidates accused of domestic and sexual violence in key midterm Senate races next year. The party’s senators don’t seem to mind.
In Missouri, a woman who had an affair with former Gov. Eric Greitens said he sexually assaulted her and blackmailed her with nude photos. The estranged wife of Army veteran Sean Parnell, the leading Republican candidate in Pennsylvania, twice took out temporary protection-from-abuse orders against him. The ex-wife of Herschel Walker, the football legend who is the front-runner for the GOP nomination in Georgia, claimed in divorce records that he was physically abusive and threatened to murder her.
Walker and Parnell have the endorsement of former President Donald Trump, which is still viewed as a game-changer in GOP primary politics. More than two dozen women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct, including harassment and assault. Greitens is enthusiastically seeking the president’s backing.
Some GOP strategists have quietly fretted that the accusations could drag down the party as it seeks to win back suburban women who have flocked to the Democratic Party since the beginning of the Trump era. The races in Georgia and Pennsylvania, in particular, are expected to be expensive, bitterly contested and crucial to which party wins control of the Senate.
Republican senators, however, largely shrugged off concerns about the trio of candidates and their alleged offenses in interviews with HuffPost.
Most Helpful Opinions