Republicans steer clear of Donald Trump in crucial Georgia Senate runoff

Republicans are keeping Donald Trump out of the spotlight as they make a last-ditch bid to pull even with Democrats in the US Senate.

The former president will not appear in Georgia for his handpicked candidate, Herschel Walker, ahead of Tuesday's runoff election, The Telegraph understands.

Mr Walker, 60, a former American football star, is running against incumbent Raphael Warnock, 53, a longtime pastor.

Mr Walker won the GOP nomination with Mr Trump's enthusiastic backing, and the 76-year-old offered his full throttled support to Mr Walker when he announced his 2024 presidential bid.

But strategists say the former president's presence in Georgia could backfire by putting off moderate Republicans and energising Democrats.

Sources close to both Mr Trump and the Walker campaign said neither side has requested that the former president travel to the state for the runoff.

One source said Mr Trump was willing to do whatever was needed to carry Mr Walker over the finish line, but notably suggested there were no plans for him to appear on stage with the candidate.

Instead, the 76-year-old could hold a phone-in event on the eve of the vote, which would have the advantage of reaching Republican voters while limiting his visibility in the race.

However the source stressed that the plans had not been confirmed.

Jay Williams, a Republican strategist working with a Walker-aligned super PAC, said there was a "deliberate strategy" to keep Mr Trump out of the race.

He said: "One, I think they [Walker's campaign] don't want him to do it because it's going to cause problems."

Mr Wiliams added that there were risks for Mr Trump, too, with polls showing Rev Warnock holding a slim lead in the race.

He said: "I think Trump looks at the numbers and knows it's a risk and doesn't want to make it look worse for himself to come in and then [have] Walker lose.

"I think it's a deliberate strategy on both sides."

By contrast, other top Republicans have flocked to the Peach State to boost Mr Walker's chances.

They include potential 2024 candidate Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador, as well as senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Rick Scott.

The race will decide the final tally of seats in the new Senate, with Democrats currently holding 50 seats and Republicans 49.

Democrats have already secured control of the chamber, since Kamala Harris, the vice president, has a tie-breaking vote.

However a victory by Rev Warnock would make it slightly easier for Democrats to confirm Joe Biden's judicial nominees.

It would also grant Democrat senators more seats on powerful committees.

"Georgia matters. That's why I'm here. That's why I was here last week. It's why I'm here this week, because December 6th in Georgia matters," Mr Cruz said during a recent appearance.

The runoff was called after neither Mr Walker, nor Rev Warnock, achieved more than 50 per cent in November's midterm elections.

Rev Warnock narrowly edged Mr Walker by 49.44 per cent to 48.49 per cent, even as Republican candidates won other statewide races.

Some privately blamed Mr Trump for backing Mr Walker, who has been plagued by scandals and lagged behind other Georgia Republican candidates on the ballot last month.

They have pointed to the fact that Mr Walker received around 200,000 fewer votes than Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia, who clashed with Mr Trump and was easily re-elected.

Moreover, roughly a third of Georgia Republicans who voted in the midterms said they did not support Mr Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement, according to data from AP.

Stephen Lawson, a Georgia Republican strategist working to elect Mr Walker, said: “I can tell you, based on the numbers we’re seeing, it would be far more advantageous to have Brian Kemp on stage with Herschel Walker [than Mr Trump]".

But Mr Trump was not the only person being kept away from Georgia ahead of the election.

President Joe Biden has been noticeably absent from the state, heading instead to Massachusetts on Friday for a Democratic fundraising event to boost Rev Warnock.

The Democrats have instead turned to former president Barack Obama, who made his second visit to Georgia for Rev Warnock on Thursday.

It echoes the support-from-a-distance strategy Mr Biden employed throughout the midterms and which the White House credits with helping his party beat expectations in key races.

The trip north led Mr Biden to get mixed up as he told reporters: "I'm going to Georgia today to help Senator Warnock", before catching himself.

He then clarified he was heading to "a major fundraiser up in Boston today for our next and continued Senate candidate and senator."

Aides said that the Boston trip was requested by Rev Warnock's campaign. He has distanced himself from Mr Biden throughout his campaign, and the president has obliged.

"The President is willing to help Senator Warnock any way he can, however the senator wants him to get involved," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week.

As often as not, that has meant not going where he was not wanted.