But she was there to lend her star power to promote the Democrat’s campaign — and make a few phone calls to likely voters encouraging them to cast their ballots for Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. (“Hey girl,” one of the startled recipients said.)

Georgia Democrats are leaning into star power to rally voters in the closing days of the race for president, hoping the enthusiasm for the celebrities translates into enthusiasm for voting.

“It feels so good to be home,” Roberts said at another stop Wednesday, one of five events she held in Georgia. “I believe in Georgia; I wouldn’t have come home if I didn’t believe that we can accomplish really beautiful goals that will extend beyond our state borders.”

Democrats are hoping visits such as Roberts’ energize supporters ahead of Tuesday’s start of early voting in Georgia. Polls show Harris and Donald Trump are locked in a close race in the state, one of a handful of battlegrounds that could decide the election.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Other big names who have boosted Harris in Georgia include John Legend, who encouraged voters to flock to the polls during a September stop in Atlanta, and Lil Jon, the rap star who stole the show at the Democratic nominating convention during Georgia’s roll call vote.

“In a race this close, we need all hands on deck — including celebrities — as well as ordinary people on the ground,” said Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who showed Roberts the ropes at the canvassing event by making the first call.

‘Last-minute Hollywood glamour’

Celebrity endorsements are old hat in campaigns, and political scientists say their impact on close races is often uncertain. But they certainly bring media attention and larger crowds to events.

Samantha Cumming was already planning on swinging by a Harris campaign office opening in Cherokee County, but Roberts gave the event an added luster.

“I think she is a citizen, and just like anybody else, she has the right to support anyone,” Cumming said Wednesday. “If she wants to voice that, the fact that she has an amplified platform is just part of how her life has been.”

Nothing may compare to Georgia’s twin U.S. Senate runoffs in 2020 and 2021, when celebrities staged entire shows and concerts to promote candidates in pivotal elections that decided control of the chamber and the fate of President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda.

Back then, actor Eva Longoria crisscrossed metro Atlanta, the cast of “Hamilton” held an online holiday show and a get-out-the-vote concert featured an eclectic lineup including Justin Timberlake and Ludacris.

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Celebrities also open the door to attacks. Gov. Brian Kemp routinely mocked his Democratic rival, Stacey Abrams, as “celebrity Stacey” during her two runs for the state’s top office. Her cameo as president of Earth in “Star Trek: Discovery” generated a torrent of GOP memes.

And Republicans are quick to use the celebrity visits during this campaign to paint Harris as an out-of-touch elitist. Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said the “last-minute Hollywood glamour” won’t distract Republicans from what he framed as disastrous Democratic policies.

“Georgians are concerned about the economy, not what out-of-touch Hollywood millionaires have to say who are parachuting in our state at the eleventh hour to try and save the failing Harris-Walz campaign,” he said.

While Republicans love to hate Hollywood, the GOP has cultivated its own celebrities. Former Georgia football star Herschel Walker was a sought-after Republican on the campaign trail before he waged his own ill-fated bid for the U.S. Senate, where he was often trailed by fans wielding jerseys for him to sign.

Credit: AP

Credit: AP

The Lee Greenwood Band and Travis Tritt have stumped in Georgia for GOP contenders in past elections, and this year former motor racing driver Danica Patrick, former SportsCenter anchor Sage Steele and country star Jason Aldean got in on the act.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a key Trump ally, appeared on stage with Aldean over the weekend in the singer’s hometown of Macon to present a check for more than $6 million for hurricane relief efforts. Trump added a video message cheering supporters for their help.

At a campaign office opening Wednesday in Mableton — a short hop from where she grew up — the crowd felt like a homecoming for Roberts.

The Oscar winner asked whether there were any other Campbell High School Panthers in the room. The high school has switched mascots in the years since Roberts graduated in the 1980s. A man in the front row said he was.

“You’re a Panther?” she said before gasping. “Karthik Ramaswamy!”

As it turns out, Roberts and Ramaswamy were in homeroom together. Ramaswamy, a doctor who now lives in Johns Creek, said he stopped by the event in his home county because he “thought it would be fun” to see her.

“Can you believe that?” she said. “This many years later, I just looked at your face and said the words ‘Karthik Ramaswamy.’”