Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock is out with a new TV ad aimed at Republican Herschel Walker as the pair face off in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
The 30-second spot appears to be Warnock’s first attack ad tracked by the firm AdImpact, and it features footage of Walker, a former college football star, promoting a body spray and claiming it can kill the virus that causes Covid-19.
Walker made the claim in an August 2020 interview with right-wing media personality Glenn Beck, shortly before launching his Senate campaign according to the Daily Beast.
“Right now, you know what, I’m gonna say something I probably shouldn’t,” Walker says in the interview clip featured in the ad.
“Do you know right now, I have something that can bring you into a building that would clean you from Covid as you walk through this dry mist. As you walk through the door, they will kill any covid on your body, EPA, FDA approved.” Walker adds.
As Walker says, “They don’t want to talk about that, they don’t want to hear about that,” text appears on screen that reads, “Is Herschel Walker really ready to represent Georgia.”
A Walker campaign aide said that the comment was a reference to a “misting” booth similar to the one the Denver Broncos football team installed to disinfect players.
“Gas prices hit yet another record high and groceries are completely unaffordable. Raphael Warnock will spend the next six months talking about everything else, because he knows it’s his fault,” Walker's campaign spokesperson Mallory Blount said in a statement to NBC News.
The ad comes just over a week since Walker, who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, easily won the GOP primary.
The Georgia contest is expected to be one of the most expensive in the country. Warnock has already spent nearly $16 million on ads, while Walker has spent $3.3 million, per AdImpact. GOP groups, including the National Republican Senatorial Committee, have also started spending on the airwaves to attack Warnock