Georgia Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker remained defiant in the wake of a bombshell Daily Beast report that accused him of paying for a former girlfriend’s abortion thirteen years ago, the Associated Press reported.

At the end of a campaign stop on Thursday, the former college and pro football star blamed the article on Democrats and their “desperation.”

“I know why you’re here. I do,” Walker, who is facing off against Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in one of the nation’s most competitive Senate races, told reporters.

“You’re here because the Democrats are desperate to hold on to this seat here, and they’re desperate to make this race about my family,” he continued.

Walker went on to repeat: “This abortion thing is false. It’s a lie.”

In the hours after the article was published Monday evening, Walker vowed to sue the news outlet, but he has not followed up with confirmation he has done so.

The Daily Beast report claimed that Walker in 2009 urged an unnamed woman to get an abortion after she became pregnant while they were dating. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous due to privacy concerns, supported her claim with a receipt from an abortion clinic and a bank deposit receipt showing that Walker reimbursed her $700 for the procedure.

Then on Wednesday, the news outlet reported that the same woman is the mother of one of Walker’s children.

Walker “didn’t accept responsibility for the kid we did have together, and now he isn’t accepting responsibility for the one that we didn’t have,” she said.

“That says so much about how he views the role of women in childbirth, versus his own. And now he wants to take that choice away from other women and couples entirely,” she continued. “I don’t think there’s anywhere in the Bible where it says, ‘Have four kids with four different women while you’re with another woman.’ Or where it praises not being a present parent. Or that an abortion is an okay thing to do when it’s not the right time for you, but a terrible thing for anyone else to do when you are running for Senate. He picks and chooses where it’s convenient for him to use that religious crutch.”

The allegations have rocked one of the nation’s most important Senate matchups, a race that could potentially determine which party controls the Senate for the final two years of President Joe Biden’s term.

Ethen Kim Lieser is a Washington state-based Finance and Tech Editor who has held posts at Google, The Korea Herald, Lincoln Journal Star, AsianWeek, and Arirang TV. Follow or contact him on LinkedIn.

Image: Reuters.