Herschel Walker faced a loss in Georgia’s Senate race.

Herschel Walker, former American footballer’s misfortune to Senator Raphael Warnock on Tuesday in Georgia’s Senate race demonstrated that imperfect competitors can’t necessarily, in every case, depending on partisan loyalties to lift them. Furthermore, it may extend Republican infighting over former president Donald Trump’s hold on the party.

Congratulations, @ReverendWarnock! Thank you to every single member of the Georgia NAACP who worked diligently to get the vote out. Justice was on the ballot and we are still running! #RunWithMaud #GeorgiaRunoff #Walker #SenatorWarnock pic.twitter.com/7M0KFOXaZ0

— Georgia NAACP (@Georgia_NAACP) December 7, 2022

In an evenly divided Senate, Mr. Warnock not only gave Democrats some breathing room but also gave Republicans ammunition to unseat former President Donald J. Trump as their party’s leader. Even while the results were counted, Mr. Trump’s detractors on the right criticized him for giving them an unproven and unstable candidate to run for a seat they thought they should win.

If there was any doubt, Mr. Warnock’s victory also ensured that Georgia would be fiercely disputed in two years, when President Biden or another Democrat would try to repeat his achievement from 2020, when he turned the state blue.

Why did Hershel Walker lose Georgia’s Senate race?

Georgia Republicans knew what was ahead when Herschel Walker entered the U.S. Senate race with the support of his longtime ally Donald Trump. The former football player has no previous political background. He had a complicated personal life, only some of which were disclosed to the public.

However, something unexpected occurred as stories about domestic abuse and abortion began to leak throughout the summer and into the fall. Walker was still competitive despite his shortcomings, and on election day in November, his brand equity nearly brought him to a tie.

But on Tuesday night, Walker’s political survival came to an end. He lost against Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock in the state’s runoff election, making him the most recent Republican candidate to be unsuccessful in winning a Senate seat.