Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff’s visit to metro Atlanta Sunday drew hundreds to local spots in Jonesboro and Sandy Springs, urging Georgia voters to turn out for the early vote.
About 100 residents in Clayton County gathered on the rooftop of Nouveau at Broad Street around noon to attend Emhoff’s first stop in Jonesboro, where Kamala Harris’ sister Maya Harris also made an appearance. Emhoff made several more stops at a local brewery in Sandy Springs, a pizza shop in midtown Atlanta and the campaign’s field office in Decatur that brought hundreds more out to back the Harris-Walz ticket.
“We’re nine days out and this is not only the most important election of our lifetimes,” Emhoff said in Jonesboro. “This is the most important election for the history of our nation.”
Maya Harris reminded attendees in Jonesboro of her and her sister’s upbringing in a middle class family, learning the importance of not just getting your foot in the door but getting ahead.
“We were raised to believe that every American deserves not only to find a good paying job but be able to buy a home and start a business,” she said. “You deserve to build wealth, to have something to pass down to your children, to live in a prosperous community.”
Credit: Ashley Ahn
Credit: Ashley Ahn
Emhoff urged voters on the fence and young voters to do their research and determine for themselves what kind of future they want.
“The other side is just trying to put all this noise and gaslighting and misinformation,” he said. “Just look at him. He’s falling apart… Just listen to what he’s saying.”
Many Georgia residents who attended the events were parents and grandparents, fearful of what another Trump presidency could look like for their children and grandchildren.
Shon Murphy, 51, of Jonesboro, said she cast her ballot on the second day of early voting. A mother of three daughters, Murphy said Harris’ policy on reproductive rights is crucial for her daughters and four grandchildren.
Kristine Medea, 60, of Lake Spivey, added she is concerned that her 12-year-old granddaughter will not have the same reproductive rights as she did growing up if Trump is elected.
“It’s disturbing to think that my grandchild might see someone in leadership who is a felon, sexual assault [offender],” she said. “I want her to have a choice, look up to someone who believes in her rights.”
Credit: Ashley Ahn
Credit: Ashley Ahn
Emhoff blamed Trump for the “chilling of free speech” as major newspapers including the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times decide not to endorse a presidential candidate just days before the election. He called the decisions laid down by the newspapers’ billionaire owners a disturbing preview to what the future of the country could look like under another Trump presidency.
“People in the media [are] afraid to do something because there is a chilling effect,” he said. “We cannot live like that.”
After visiting Jonesboro and Sandy Springs, Emhoff made a stop at the Triple Jays Pizza Bar in Midtown Atlanta where he picked up six pizzas and later delivered them to volunteers at the campaign’s field office in Decatur.
“The folks who haven’t made up their minds, we gotta get to them,” Emhoff said to volunteers. “The more doors you knock on, it can make a difference and it can swing the whole election.”
Credit: Ashley Ahn
Credit: Ashley Ahn
Team Trump Georgia Communications Director Morgan Ackley called Emhoff’s visit to the battleground state a fruitless endeavor.
“His visit to the state will not hide the fact that Georgians are still suffering from nearly four years of Kamala Harris’ disastrous agenda,” Ackley said.
But for some Georgia voters, Trump winning the election in 2016 and refusing to accept the outcome of the 2020 election spurred them into action.
“The thing that bothered me the most was the insurrection,” Murphy said. “I don’t want to support that. You go against the constitution and you’re not punished.”
Cheryl Lipton, 55, of Sandy Springs said after Trump won the presidency in 2016, she has seen more division and polarization in metro Atlanta, largely driven by misinformation from Trump and unreliable news sources.
“It’s scary people do not have all the facts and they’re listening to all that fake news,” she said.
She added, “It’s about preserving democracy. I didn’t have to say that before this election.”
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