Herschel Walker denies abortion ban support and brandishes ‘police badge’ in Georgia debate

Republican spars with Democratic senator Raphael Warnock in one-off contest in vital midterms race

The Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, a staunch anti-abortion politician accused by a former girlfriend of encouraging and paying for her abortion in 2009, used his only debate against the Democratic senator Raphael Warnock on Friday to deny his previous support for an outright national abortion ban.

The former college football and NFL star, who is endorsed by Donald Trump, was asked about his support for a complete ban on a national level". He said the moderator misstated his position. That contradicted statements made repeatedly on the campaign trail, including in July when Walker said it was a problem" that no national ban existed.