LeBron James Urges Georgia Residents To Vote Warnock

Finally, LeBron James has decided to back the blue. But sadly, it's not the police. The Lakers superstar momentarily stopped complaining to NBA officials and urged Georgia residents to vote blue. More specifically, James is backing Democrat Raphael Warnock in his Georgia Senate race with Republican candidate Herschel Walker.

Though there's little surprise James is leaning left, it's at least somewhat surprising that he's campaigning for Warnock. After all, James is a California resident with no known ties to Georgia. But Warnock, like most Dems fearing the red tsunami, could use the help. Enter James, who never saw a camera he didn't like.

"Georgia, what up? LeBron James here. Obviously tomorrow is Election Day and there's only one choice," says James during an Instagram video posted by Warnock late Monday night. "And there's only one choice when voting for Senator. And that's Raphael Warnock.

"So make sure you guys go to Warnock.com to find your polling location. God Bless."

Raphael Warnock Is The Incumbent

Whew. Now those Georgia residents on the fence about whether to vote Warnock or Walker can finally breathe. LeBron's given his endorsement, despite having seemingly little or no knowledge about either candidate or the state of affairs in Georgia.

Having James publicly back Warnock reeks of desperation. This appears to be Warnock's Hail Mary attempt to save his seat, as Walker continues to gain points in the highly-contested race. Even the video itself seems forced, if not rushed.

James appears to have quickly made the video at the request of Warnock. He's wearing a t-shirt and head wrap and is seated next to a window in what seems to be his home or a hotel. This is far from the typical political campaign ad.

Not to mention, this video was posted only to Senator Warnock's Instagram. James did not even bother to repost or share in his IG story.

But, desperate times, desperate measures...

LeBron James is backing Raphael Warnock Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images).

Election Day Off

James, along with his Lakers teammates and the rest of the NBA, were given Tuesday off. The league did not schedule any games in an effort to encourage players to vote.

On Friday, James was asked about the importance of voting. He then shared the NBA's message that it's important to visit your local polls and specifically encouraged black people to vote. His message was largely that black people have been oppressed and should therefore vote.

"I know as black people sometimes, we don’t believe that our vote counts, we don’t believe that our vote matters — and I just say black people cause I just know my people, I can’t speak for everybody, I just know how we are — but it does. It does matter," James said in part. "We saw change when we wanted to get someone out of office. So, I hope people take it serious."

Both Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker are black, by the way.

Warnock's Motivation

It's not hard to understand why Warnock's Hail Mary would bring James into the fray. He's one of the most popular athletes on the planet. But if any voters are thinking of casting their ballots one way solely because of LBJ's stance, they may want to do some more research.

See, LeBron isn't always the picture of truth. And as previously mentioned, he has a propensity to concern himself more with attention (good, bad, whatever), than factual messages.

Just this week James found a way to make the death of Migos rapper Takeoff about himself. He dressed liked Takeoff ahead of a recent game then shared a message about listening to the hip-hop group since 2010. Only one problem, the group's first album didn't drop until years later.

James also called Boston fans "racist as f*ck" this summer. But, he owns a part of the Boston Red Sox. Don't let a minority stake in a Major League Baseball team get in the way of a good argument though, right?

And let's not forget LeBron recently accusing the media of "trying to set me up to say something (negative)."

Nice pitchman, Warnock.

Expect A Close Vote

Prior to polls opening Tuesday, Walker and Warnock were seen as neck-and-neck in the polls. As OutKick reported Sunday, Georgia's already set a state record for early-voting turnout for a midterm election. More than 2.5 million votes had already been cast before Tuesday.

"I’m running because I’m sick and tired of people not loving this country," Warnock's opponent, Walker said Monday.

By this evening, we'll know whether or not LeBron's video was a slam dunk or yet another Lakers miss.

Follow along on Twitter: @OhioAF