GOP 'Vultures' Use Herschel Walkers Campaign To Line Their Own Pockets

In the week leading up to Tuesdays high-profile Senate runoff in Georgia, Montana Congressman-elect Ryan Zinke (R) sent out at least nine messages asking his supporters to donate to Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

GEORGIA UPDATE: Herschel Walker is on the ropes, and he needs EVERY Republican to send support NOW, or the Senate will be lost, read a text that went out Monday. (Even if Walker wins, Democrats will maintain Senate control.)

Walker, the former football star who has been dogged by scandal throughout the race, squares off against Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock in Tuesdays runoff. Warnock, the incumbent, has outraised Walker by more than 2 to 1, and limited polling shows Warnock with a slight edge in Tuesdays runoff.

The message from Zinke included a link to a webpage hosted by the GOP fundraising platform WinRed, where people are encouraged to chip in contributions ranging from $10 to $2,900 to help Walker stop the Democratic majority.

Theres a catch. Unless a donor clicks on the fine print that allows them to adjust the allocation amount, only half their money goes to Walkers campaign. The other half goes into Zinkes coffers.

Ryan Zinke is also using Walker/the GA race to fill his coffers

relentlessly texting to ask people to donate to Walker by default, half the $$ goes to Zinke https://t.co/3zWrClFFXi pic.twitter.com/4pcguGz9po

Chris D'Angelo (@c_m_dangelo) December 6, 2022","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Chris D'Angelo","author_url":"https://twitter.com/c_m_dangelo","cache_age":86400,"description":"Ryan Zinke is also using Walker/the GA race to fill his coffersrelentlessly texting to ask people to donate to Walker by default, half the $$ goes to Zinke https://t.co/3zWrClFFXi pic.twitter.com/4pcguGz9po Chris D'Angelo (@c_m_dangelo) December 6, 2022\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":1737,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FjTJhYwXwAE9qXY.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":1170,"title":"Chris D'Angelo on 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Ryan Zinke is also using Walker/the GA race to fill his coffers

relentlessly texting to ask people to donate to Walker by default, half the $$ goes to Zinke https://t.co/3zWrClFFXi pic.twitter.com/4pcguGz9po
Chris D'Angelo (@c_m_dangelo) December 6, 2022

Zinke, the scandal-plagued former Trump administration official, won last months race for Montanas new House seat and, according to Politico , is already weighing a run for Senate in 2024. He has not publicly voiced support for Walkers campaign, according to HuffPosts review of social media and news interviews.

And hes just one of several Republicans who have latched onto Walkers bid down the stretch, using the contested runoff to grow their own war chest.

Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah) and the Indiana Republican Party all have similar WinRed donation pages that default to a 50/50 split with Walkers campaign. Graham and Scott are among the Republicans who have repeatedly joined Walker during TV appearances , at times dominating the interviews.