ATLANTA — State investigators are being urged to probe whether Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker violated the law by receiving a tax break on his Texas home meant for primary residents of that state even as he runs for federal office in Georgia.
Republican nominee for U.S Senate Herschel Walker speaks during a campaign rally on Thursday in Canton, Ga.. John Bazemore/Associated Press
The complaint filed Sunday by Ann Gregory Roberts asked the attorney general’s office and Georgia Bureau of Investigation to “promptly investigate this apparent violation of Georgia law” ahead of the Dec. 6 runoff against U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Tax records show the former football player is set to receive a homestead exemption worth about $1,500 for a $3 million home in thesuburbs of Dallas that Walker listed as his primary residence.
Walker’s campaign has declined requests for comment about the tax records, which were first reported by CNN. The documents show Walker has claimed the exemption since 2012.
The records brought new scrutiny to questions Walker has faced about his residency that precede his decision to formally run for office. He faces Warnock in a runoff after neither candidate won a majority of the vote in the November midterm.
A former Dallas Cowboys star, Walker lived in Texas for decades before registering to vote in Georgia in August 2021 shortly before he declared his candidacy.
At the time, Walker’s main GOP rival challenged him to “move here, pay taxes here, register and vote in some elections” before running. Warnock’s allies have taken a similar line of attack, framing the Republican as an out-of-state charlatan.
The U.S. Constitution has few restrictions on potential U.S. Senate candidates. It requires only that a senator be 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for nine years and an “inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen” when elected.
Georgia law includes more than a dozen stipulations to be considered when establishing residency, including where the candidate takes his or her homestead exemption.
The complaint by Roberts asks authorities to investigate whether Walker violated state law “by registering and voting in Georgia while knowingly maintaining his principal residence in Texas.”
The Texas Tribune reported the homestead exemption could also run afoul of Texas state law, which allows homeowners to claim the tax break only on their “principal residence.”
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