Herschel Walker Has No Clue How to Achieve Energy Independence

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Tonight, during the only debate in Georgia’s Senate race, the differences between Senator Raphael Warnock and challenger Herschel Walker were crystal clear.  While Walker repeatedly brought up inflation and the need for energy independence, he failed to address the root causes of these issues: an addiction to fossil fuels driven by corporate greed. Walker spent the majority of his time on stage attacking Senator Warnock while failing to offer meaningful solutions to lower costs for Georgians, secure energy independence, or create jobs in the state.  When it comes to policy solutions Herschel Walker’s tank is empty.

During tonight’s debate Walker delivered a talking point on the need for energy independence in order to fight inflation and protect our national security. He went on to underscore the need for leaders “who are going to stand up to foreign leaders and stand up for the people of Georgia.” Unfortunately, correctly repeating back a problem is far from presenting a real solution.   Walker is misleading the public about how we achieve true energy independence. Walker, who has received $118,437 from Big Oil as he strives to become their latest elected shill, doesn’t seem to understand that true energy independence comes from weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels by investing in clean energy. Much like his Big Oil backers, Walker vehemently opposes the Inflation Reduction Act even though this law will transition us away from fossil fuels, cut costs for Georgians, all while creating good-paying jobs in the state’s booming clean energy industry. The Inflation Reduction has myriad benefits for Georgians:

• The Inflation Reduction Act will expand clean energy opportunities in Georgia, bringing an estimated $180 million of investment in large-scale clean power generation and storage to Georgia between now and 2030. In 2021, Georgia was already home to 75,211 clean energy jobs.
  • One report published in 2020 found that even modest federal clean energy stimulus investments could generate 21,912 jobs in Georgia per year over a five year period. 
  • Georgia is among the top 10 states in terms of potential jobs that could be created through investments in grid modernization and energy efficiency. The hypothetical investments in that report were even smaller than those in the Inflation Reduction Act.

In stark contrast to Walker, Senator Warnock, who championed the Inflation Reduction Act in the Senate, pointed out how Georgians are paying the price of corporate greed, while touting his record of cost-savings for ordinary people, saying: 

“There’s no question that people are feeling pain at the grocery store, at the pump, at pharmacy counters and while we are paying record prices, a lot of our corporate actors are seeing record profits, in the oil and gas industry, in the pharmaceutical industry, which is why I’ve stood up for ordinary hard working Georgia families time and time again. I passed the single largest tax cut […] for middle- and working-class families in American history. And we passed the Inflation Reduction Act.”

Warnock’s position is much more aligned with Georgia voters than Walker’s. The majority of Georgia voters support investments in clean energy and want the government to do more to tackle climate change.

• 79% of registered voters in Georgia support investment in clean energy jobs and 76% support Congressional climate action. 
• 77% of adults in Georgia support tax rebates for people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels.
• 75% of registered voters in Georgia support expanding clean energy tax credits.