McConnell joins Trump, backs Herschel Walker in Georgia’s 2022 GOP

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Wednesday endorsed former NFL star Herschel Walker’s bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Georgia, a key battleground state the GOP hopes to flip from blue to red in next year’s midterm elections.

In doing so, the Kentucky senator joins former President Donald Trump in backing Walker, who briefly played for a Trump-owned team in the long-defunct USFL.

McConnell’s move comes amid a nearly yearlong war of words between the two GOP giants over Trump’s repeated emphasis on re-litigating his 2020 election loss to now-President Biden, and his numerous calls for McConnell to be ousted as Senate Republican leader.

The senator’s endorsement, which was shared first with Fox News and Politico, signals that the GOP Senate leadership – and with it much of the party establishment in the nation’s capital — is rallying around Walker’s bid to challenge Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in a race next year that may determine if the GOP wins back the Senate majority in the 2022 midterms.

HERSCHEL WALKER BURSTS OUT OF THE GATES IN SENATE FUNDRAISING RACE

“I am happy to endorse Herschel Walker for U.S. Senate in Georgia,” McConnell said in a statement .”Herschel is the only one who can unite the party, defeat Senator Warnock, and help us take back the Senate. I look forward to working with Herschel in Washington to get the job done.” 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is seen on Capitol Hill, June 22, 2021. 
(Associated Press )

Walker thanked McConnell for the endorsement and for “his commitment to bringing the party together toward the collective goal of defeating Senator Warnock. The Democrats have already said they will spend whatever it takes to keep Georgia blue. The stakes have never been higher — if we all work together, we will win next November, and take back the Senate.”

Untested first-timer

Republicans close to McConnell over the summer privately briefly expressed concerns whether Walker, an untested first-time candidate with potential political baggage, would be ready for the rigors of a high-profile Senate campaign. But such talk from McConnell’s inner circle soon receded. GOP sources tell Fox News that Walker, who’s a longtime Trump ally and surrogate, has recently held what were described as a couple of “cordial conversations” with McConnell.

WALKER LANDS PIVOTAL REPUBLICAN SENATE ENDORSEMENT

McConnell becomes at least the sixth Republican senator to back Walker. And his backing comes two days after Sen. John Thune, the No. 2 Senate Republican, endorsed Walker. The support by Thune, the Senate GOP whip, came after the lawmaker from South Dakota had voiced reservations about Walker’s candidacy earlier this year.

GOP sources tell Fox News to expect in the coming days and weeks more endorsements of Walker by others in the six-member Republican Senate leadership team.

Walker, a former college football star running back who won a Heisman Trophy and helped propel…