A sign on the town square in the Johnson county seat of Wrightsville pays homage to the county’s namesake, Herschel Vespasian Johnson, Georgia’s 41st governor. A relative rarity for his time, Johnson was one of 89 men who voted against secession in 1861 against more than 200 of their peers.
But Herschel Johnson is a historical footnote here. Now, the only Herschel that most people know around here is Herschel Walker, a former football star and political novice running for US Senate. Like Johnson, Walker represents a relatively rare political being: he is a Black Republican who supports Donald Trump.
