In Georgia, Herschel Walker puts GOP in a holding pattern

ATLANTA (AP) — The recently ousted former senator who wants her job back. A football hero considering his first run for office. Little-known politicians eying promotions. And a former president overshadowing them all in a state he lost last November.

Republicans’ U.S. Senate nomination in a premier battleground like Georgia is a plum political prize, but a year before GOP voters choose a nominee for the 2022 midterms, they have no clear options. That leaves some power players worried about the party’s chances to defeat freshman Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock as they try to reclaim a Senate majority.

The glaring unknown as potential contenders consider their plans: whether political neophyte Herschel Walker will enter the race with the endorsement of his close friend, Donald Trump. Walker was a beloved Heisman Trophy winner for the University of Georgia and retired professional football star who played in the short-lived U.S. Football League when Trump was a team owner in the 1980s. Now, Trump is the former president who has divided Georgia Republicans with promises of vengeance against those he insists didn’t do enough to help him overturn his defeat.

Together, they may be the most popular duo among Georgia Republicans.

Walker, who has joined in Trump’s false assertions that the 2020 election was fraudulent, has stoked chatter about a Senate bid for months and discussed the race with national party leaders including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Florida Sen. Rick Scott, head of the GOP’s Senate campaign committee.

Trump has publicly encouraged Walker to enter the primary.

Walker, who recently attended Trump’s private birthday celebration, has not indicated when he’ll announce a decision. But the mere possibility of him running is enough to leave other...