Last week, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump held rallies at the same Georgia State University venue in downtown Atlanta just days apart.
Harris’s event on Tuesday burst at the seams with jubilant Democrats thrilled over her new role as the face of the party and its presumptive 2024 presidential nominee.
Meanwhile, Trump’s Saturday rally, which attracted the MAGA faithful, tried to blunt Harris’ ascension in a race that the former president less than a month ago thought would be against the more politically-vulnerable President Joe Biden.
The new landscape comes at a critical time for both campaigns in Georgia, the onetime Republican presidential stronghold that has since taken on a shade of purple after backing Biden in 2020 and electing Democrats to the Senate in both 2021 and 2022.
Advertisement
Whereas many Republicans were beginning to see Georgia for the taking due to Biden’s sagging numbers, Harris has given Democrats a jolt of energy in the state. And now, neither side can take this Southern battleground for granted.
Harris has strength with young voters and minorities
Biden in 2020 swept nearly every swing state, boosted by his electoral advantage with young voters and minorities.
In Georgia, Biden’s strong support among these groups, especially with Black voters, helped him win the state by less than one percentage point that year.
But more recently, Biden struggled to rally that base. He was often mired in the low-to-mid 40s in most Georgia polls.
A big part of that slippage was because Trump was winning over an atypical number of Black voters for a GOP presidential candidate, and a chunk of young voters were opting instead for third-party candidates like independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Advertisement
But Harris has reversed that trend, giving her momentum that had eluded Biden in Georgia this year.
A recent Emerson College/The Hill survey showed Trump with a narrow two-point lead (48% to 46%) over Harris in the Peach State. And the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll taken in Georgia showed Harris and Trump tied at 47% support each among registered voters.
Harris can expand her suburban support
Trump’s allies had long prepared for a rematch with Biden, using a playbook centered on sweeping GOP voters and winning over independents and undecided voters on the economy.
It could have been particularly effective in Atlanta’s suburbs, especially in outer suburban communities where Republicans still dominate in non-federal statewide races.
But Harris’ ascent has thrown those plans into disarray.
Advertisement
Even though Harris is a key part of the Biden administration, she has a chance to reintroduce herself to an electorate that didn’t want a 2020 rematch. Her focus on issues like upholding the Constitution and protecting reproductive rights puts her squarely where a lot of suburban residents are ideologically.
Trump weighed down suburban Republicans across the country in 2016, and in 2018 and 2020 his brand of Republicanism continued to push many suburbs — including those in the Atlanta area — further from their old GOP leanings.
Former President Donald Trump has continued to air grievances about the 2020 election results.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Trump underperformed in many inner suburban Atlanta communities during the March GOP presidential primary, with former UN ambassador Nikki Haley earning thousands of votes even after she had left the race.
Advertisement
A sizable number of these anti-Trump GOP voters could eventually migrate to Harris and give her added support in a region where she’ll also need to perform strongly with Democrats to overcome Trump’s rural strength.
Trump still hasn’t let 2020 go
Elections are about the future. And if Trump holds on to 2020 instead of uniting Georgia Republicans, Harris will likely benefit.
During Trump’s rally on Saturday, he once again lashed out at Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, leaning into the bitterness of the 2020 election that tore apart the GOP.
Trump has long argued, without evidence, that he was the true victor in Georgia that year. But neither Kemp nor Raffensperger would aid Trump in overturning the state’s presidential results, and most Republicans have sought to move beyond the ex-president’s grievances on the issue.
But not Trump.
Advertisement
“He’s a bad guy, he’s a disloyal guy, and he’s a very average governor,” Trump told rally attendees of Kemp on Saturday.
“In my opinion, they want us to lose,” the former president said of Kemp and Raffensperger.
After Trump in a Truth Social post mentioned Kemp’s wife, Marty, by saying he didn’t want the Georgia first lady’s endorsement, the governor told the ex-president on X to “leave my family out of it.”
In 2022, Trump tried to dispatch Kemp and Raffensperger in GOP primaries to no avail, as they defeated MAGA-aligned challengers.
This year, a divided Republican Party headed into November would seriously imperil the party’s chances at flipping the state as the Harris campaign pours time and resources into Georgia.
Advertisement
If Trump can’t even appear in Georgia alongside the state’s popular sitting GOP governor, it could affect organizing and turnout — as Kemp’s get-out-the-vote operation was critical in his reelection victory against Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2022.
ALBANY, Ga. (WWSB) – A man on the run since a March murder in Bradenton has been arrested in Georgia, officials said.
Maurice McCary, 35, was located Tuesday in Albany, Georgia, nearly four months after fleeing the scene of a shooting on March 8 that left one man dead and another injured.
Following a tip, local law enforcement found him hiding under a bed before taking him into custody. McCary will be extradited to Manatee County to face charges.
On March 8, 27-year-old Jamari Murray-Barnes and 22-year-old De’Ryan Lopez were stopped at a traffic light at the intersection of U.S. 41 and 53rd Avenue West in Bradenton.
Advertisement
McCary allegedly pulled his vehicle alongside theirs and fired multiple shots into the car, fatally wounding Murray-Barnes and injuring Lopez.
Detectives believe the shooting stemmed from an altercation involving the men at a local bar two nights earlier.
Dallas McCade, Loran Smith, Greg Street, Joel Williams and Marcy Williams to be inducted
Friends of Georgia Radio has announced its 2026 Hall of Fame class.
Marking the organization’s fifth year, this class represents the largest number of nominees to date, highlighting some of the Peach State’s finest in radio. The inductees — Dallas McCade, Greg Street, Joel Williams, Loran Smith and Marcy Williams — will be honored at a celebration on Aug. 22 at City Springs in Sandy Springs, Ga.
The 2026 inductees
Friends of Georgia Radio has announced its 2026 Hall of Fame class.
Dallas McCade: A prominent voice in Atlanta country music radio, McCade is co-host of the “Kincaid & Dallas” morning show on 101.5 WKHX(FM), where she also serves as music director. The organization highlighted McCade’s authenticity, humor and deep connection with her audience.
Loran Smith: Smith was the University of Georgia’s first sideline reporter. A past chairman and 1997 inductee of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, he continues to contribute to sports media as co-host of the Bulldog Radio Network’s “Tailgate Show” and as a columnist.
Greg Street: Recognized as a key figure in Southern hip-hop radio, Street is a renowned on-air host for Atlanta’s WVEE(FM). Joining the station in 1995, his “6 O’clock Jump Off” show rose to popularity while helping launch major Southern artists, including OutKast, T.I. and Ludacris.
Joel Williams: Williams spent 17 years at WDUN in Gainesville and worked at WYAY(FM) before moving to WCON(FM) in North Georgia, a station Radio World’s Elle Kehres chronicled. As morning show co-host, he covers a wide range of local topics, from state politics and school news to Friday night football.
Marcy Williams: Williams joined WSB(AM) in the late 1980s following her early reporting and anchoring career. Best known for her 30-year run as a morning news anchor, she became a trusted, staple voice for Atlanta commuters handling traffic, weather and breaking news. Williams retired in 2023.
Friends of Georgia Radio is a nonprofit organization of radio professionals centered around Georgia’s communities and the radio profession.
