Herschel Walker: US Senate candidate denies report he paid for girlfriend's abortion

A US Senate candidate who supports a complete abortion ban is denying a report that he paid for his girlfriend's own procedure in 2009.

The Daily Beast reported on Monday that Herschel Walker had sent the woman money to cover her abortion.

The former NFL player, a candidate in Georgia, has denied the allegation and called the story "a flat-out lie".

The report could shake up an extremely close race that will help determine which party holds power in Washington.

The US Senate race in Georgia is one of the most consequential in the country. Mr Walker is hoping to unseat incumbent Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, who won the seat in 2020.

That victory gave Democrats 50 seats in the upper chamber in Congress, allowing them to control the US Senate and pass some of President Joe Biden's biggest policy initiatives over the last two years.

Republicans hope to retake the chamber in the midterm elections on 8 November, and the state of Georgia is key to their strategy.

Ahead of the midterms, Democrats across the country have put a spotlight on reproductive rights after the US Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion this summer. The party hopes to use the issue to drive their base to the polls in November.

Mr Walker has also made the issue central to his campaign, saying he believes abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape or incest.

But according to The Daily Beast, he encouraged his then girlfriend to have the procedure and later sent her a cheque and a get well card.

The woman, whom the media outlet does not name due to privacy concerns, said she became pregnant while dating Mr Walker over a decade ago.

She told the outlet that she came forward because "I just can't deal with the hypocrisy anymore. We all deserve better".

On Twitter, Mr Walker said: "I deny this in the strongest terms possible" and vowed to file a lawsuit against the media outlet.

In a statement, National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Chris Hartline called the report "innuendo and lies."

The Daily Beast has said it stands behind its reporting.

Mr Walker, a football legend in the state, is running neck-and-neck with Mr Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.

Republicans had hoped that Mr Walker's celebrity would boost their chances in the midterms. He has taken conservative stances on most social issues, and will rely in part on Evangelical voters to elect him to the Senate.

But the Walker campaign has weathered a series of personal controversies stemming from the candidate's past behaviour.

Two women have accused Mr Walker of domestic abuse over the years. His ex-wife, Cindy Grossman, sought a protective order against him in 2005 after Mr Walker made violent threats, the Associated Press reported.

He also faced reports about three children, from different mothers, that he had not publicly acknowledged during the campaign. He later confirmed they were his, saying he had "never denied" their existence.

Mr Walker has spoken openly about his mental health struggles and revealed struggles with suicidal thoughts and a diagnosis dissociative identity disorder in his 2008 book.

On Monday night, one of his children unleashed a torrent of criticism at Mr Walker, claiming that the candidate had abandoned and threatened him and his mother.

"Don't lie on the lives you've destroyed and act like you're some moral family man," Christian Walker said.

Despite the controversies, polls show an extremely close race between Mr Walker and Mr Warnock.

"I'll let the pundits decide how they think it will impact the race," Mr Warnock said in response to the Daily Beast report.

"But I have been consistent in my view that a patient's room is too narrow and cramped for space for a woman and the government. My view on that has not changed."