'SNL' roasts Herschel Walker, Kari Lake, Dr. Oz in cold open spoofing candidates' wild success

"Saturday Night Live" took aim at controversial Republican candidates surging in midterm election races: Herschel Walker, Mehmet Oz and Kari Lake.

During the sketch show's cold open Saturday, all three candidates were portrayed being interviewed by PBS's Judy Woodruff (Heidi Gardner) in an effort to get at the reasons for their recent success.

Kenan Thompson was introduced as former football star Walker, the gaffe-prone Senate candidate from Georgia. "Hello, Judas. My name is Herschel Walker Texas Ranger and I’m running for president of the United Airlines," he said.

The candidate did not have an explanation for his own recent poll gains.

"The whole world is a mystery, ain’t it?" Thompson’s Walker said. "For example, a thermos: It keeps the hot things hot but also the cold things cold. My question is, how do it decide? So we’re going to be looking into that very much."

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The interview delved into real accusations from women in Walker's past who have claimed he paid for their abortions, a charge strongly at odds with the candidate's anti-abortion stance.

"People love me, no matter what. Like the great Trump Donald said, 'I could pay for an abortion in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any voters,' " Thompson’s Walker said.

Cecily Strong’s Kari Lake appeared in soft focus expressing the Arizona gubernatorial candidate's continued theme of mistrust for the mainstream media. "Great to be with you, Judy, on your sweet little show full of lies," Strong's Lake said.

The candidate tried to explain her own success: "Frankly, I’ve just clicked with many of the wonderful, terrified elderly people here in Arizona, the Florida of the West."

Strong's Lake added, "Also, I'm a fighter, I've sent back more than 2,000 salads. And I'm not afraid to do the same thing with democracy."

The one-time local TV anchor said, "Nothing I say can be incendiary because I say it in TV voice."

Thompson’s Walker ended the sketch saying, “Yippee-ki-yay and go Halloween."

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President Joe Biden stars in 'Election 2024' horror film trailer

Democrats were the subject of a fake "SNL" horror movie trailer discussing their prospects in the 2024 presidential election and persistent questions about President Joe Biden's age.

"Sometimes a familiar face can be the most terrifying," the trailer narrator's voice intones as an onscreen newscaster notes that Biden intends to run again in 2024 at age 81. "You trusted him once, can you trust him again?"

The horror movie deals with a house of young voters freaked out about Biden's age and how that will affect the election, which could be a rematch of 2020 with Donald Trump. But other potential Democratic candidates are even more horrifying.

"Sometimes your best option is the one you fear the most," the narrator says, introducing the movie title: "2020 Part 2: 2024."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'SNL' mocks Kari Lake, Herschel Walker, Dr. Oz in election cold open