Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker on Monday addressed allegations of past domestic violence toward his ex-wife, saying that he’s “accountable” for his behavior.
In an interview with Axios, the former football star insisted that he has never broken the law and claimed that other allegations of threatening behavior were “made up” — a statement that his campaign later clarified was referring to accusations by two other women and not his ex-wife, Cindy Grossman.
But he also said that he was accountable for his past actions in his relationship with Grossman. The couple divorced in 2002.
“I’m always accountable to whatever I’ve ever done,” Walker told Axios. “And that’s what I tell people: I’m accountable to it.”
Walker has long been open about his mental health struggles, including his experience with dissociative identity disorder, a condition formerly known as multiple personality disorder.
But his comments to Axios marked the first time since he announced his Senate campaign that he addressed Grossman’s allegations in a major interview.
Georgia state Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, who’s also seeking the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock next year, went on the attack against Walker in October over the allegations, calling such behavior “disqualifying.”
While the allegations stirred concern among some Republicans early on, GOP leaders have largely coalesced behind Walker’s candidacy. The former NFL player jumped into the Senate race in August after months of urging from former President Trump, who promptly endorsed Walker for the Republican nomination.
Walker is considered the GOP front-runner in the race to take on Warnock, who won his seat earlier this year in a runoff election and is seeking his first full term in the Senate in 2022.
The Georgia Senate race is one of the most competitive of the upcoming midterm election cycle and is among a handful that could determine the balance of power in the upper chamber in 2022.