JAMES OLIphant
ATLANTA (Reuters) – Democrats turned to former President Barack Obama on Friday in a tight race for the U.S. Senate Unite Georgia voters, which could determine whether the party continues to control the party. The conference room after the upcoming midterm elections.
Two-term Democrat Obama, who left office in 2017, runs for Sen. Rafael Warnock in Atlanta, who faces Donald Trump Supported by Republican challenger Herschel Walker. Polls show a deadlock in the race between Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Obama addresses more than 5,000 admirers, urging them to vote in the Nov. 8 election.
“What I’m here to tell you is not a choice. Despair is not a choice,” he said.
“The basic question you should be asking yourself now is: ‘Who’s going to fight for you?'”
The arena was packed with mostly African-American Outside Atlanta, Obama chanted Obama’s signature slogan: “Yes, we can.”
Georgia is a top takeover target for Republicans who need only one seat to take control of the Senate. The historically conservative state was elected President Joe Biden, Warnock and Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff two years ago, suggesting a move for political reorganization.
Obama is also on the campaign trail of Democrat Stacey Abrams, who is running against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. Abrams has been trailing Kemp in that game.
His trip comes at a time when Democrats are increasingly anxious about their Senate race. Warnock, a former Georgia football star who has been dogged by questions about his turbulent personal life, has held a steady lead in the polls for months.
Walker has since closed the gap. The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, was caught by a TV camera microphone at an event on Thursday, telling Biden that the race in Georgia was “going downhill.”
“It’s hard to believe they’re going to Herschel Walker,” Schumer told the president.
Walker faces domestic violence charges from ex-wife. Recently, two women said Walker forced them to have abortions while they were in a relationship, a charge he denies.
Walker opposes abortion, but has been inconsistent on whether it should be allowed in rape or rape cases. Incest or maintaining the health of the mother. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, supports abortion rights.
Obama shot Walker, comparing him to former President Donald Trump. “In my opinion, he’s a celebrity who wants to be a politician,” Obama said. “We’ve seen the situation.”
Two years ago, a surge in black voters was crucial to Warnock’s fiasco, and Obama’s arrival was in large part to unite the community again stand out.
Georgia has a record number of early voters, according to data from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. As of Friday, more than 1.25 million residents had voted, far ahead of the total (730,706) at this point in 2018, the last midterm election year.
Obama’s appearance is the start of a five-state tour that will take him to battlefields in Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Last seen on the Saturday before the Nov. 8 midterm elections, Biden will fight alongside Biden, who has struggled with low public approval in some key battlegrounds.
Beyond Georgia, Republicans are focusing their efforts on flipping Democratic Senate seats in Arizona or Nevada.
Republicans are also expected to win enough seats to take over the U.S. House of Representatives. Control of both chambers would allow them to block Biden’s agenda, block his administration’s nominees and launch an investigation into his administration.
(Reporting by James Oliphant; Editing by Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
