What she did not talk about during the whirlwind visit was the ongoing protests over President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war, which has triggered nationwide demonstrations on campuses, including at Emory University and the University of Georgia, and threats of political retribution in November.

The visit, her 12th to Georgia since she took office, came as polls show both have work to do to shore up their support among Black Americans amid a tight rematch against former President Donald Trump. Harris told a crowd of mostly Black business leaders and elected officials she wanted to ensure the administration’s policies were reaching them.

“One of the compelling reasons for me to start this tour now is to ask all the leaders here for help in getting the word out about what’s available to entrepreneurs and small businesses.

“Because we are in the process of putting a lot of money in the streets of America for this growth,” she said. “And we want to make sure everyone has access to the opportunity to take advantage of the contracts and the work that has been generated by this policy push.”

It was a reference to the federal green energy and infrastructure laws that Biden signed into law, incentive-laden packages that have helped generate jobs in Georgia but also triggered criticism of “reckless” spending by Republicans.

Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon said Harris’ “word salad” can’t erase damage the administration has inflicted on the economy.

“Every day I’m talking to Georgians who are having to do more with less as the cost of basic necessities like food, housing, electricity and medicine spiral out of control due to the runaway inflation their policies have caused,” he said.

‘Big breakthrough?’

Harris and a coterie of Georgia Democrats repeatedly invoked a recently announced $158 million federal grant for the construction of the Stitch — a planned 14-acre green space over the Downtown Connector — throughout the visit.

The long-planned park spanning the busy Atlanta highway is one of several projects that seek to reconnect intown neighborhoods cut off by construction of interstate highways and knit together historically Black communities separated by the massive projects.

“It’s about bringing people back together,” U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock said. “It’s about expanding opportunities to work and live with dignity. It’s about righting historic wrongs.”

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Harris also repeated a promise to increase federal contracts for minority-owned businesses by 50%, an initiative she said would boost disadvantaged firms that have long been left out of lucrative work.

“When you get a federal contract, it is potentially yours for life. And it’s very sustainable and could be the source of great growth,” said Harris said.

The campaign announced the trip to Atlanta days after confirming Biden’s plans to deliver the commencement speech at Morehouse College, which drew threats of protest from critics who say he hasn’t fulfilled promises to better the lives of Black Americans.

And it coincided with fresh pro-Palestinian demonstrations at UGA that were quickly broken up by police who arrested several of the protesters on charges of trespassing.

There were no demonstrations that targeted Harris, whose detailed itinerary wasn’t publicized in advance of her visit. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, one of Trump’s top Georgia allies, accused her of “cowardice” for not addressing the divide during her stop.

“While antisemitism and calls for the eradication of Jewish people are spewed by radical leftists across the country, Harris refuses to condemn these vicious acts,” Jones said.

Some senior Georgia Democrats worry Biden and Harris can’t rekindle the tenuous alliance of urban liberals, suburban moderates, disaffected Republicans and Black voters who fueled his narrow 2020 victory in Georgia.

Credit: undefined

Credit: undefined

Trump and other Republicans see Georgia as a cornerstone of his comeback bid, and they have been working to undercut Biden’s support among Black voters.

Trump’s advisers have pointed to a recent visit to a Chick-fil-A in the Vine City neighborhood, where a Black GOP activist helped organize a rousing welcome for Trump that went viral in conservative media.

Still, while some polls show Trump is gaining ground among Black voters, most show Biden retains an enormous lead among those voters.

Emory University political scientist Alan Abramowitz, who recently published an analysis of electoral trends, noted Trump’s “surprisingly robust support” among Black voters in some recent polls.

Abramowitz said recent exit polling and turnout trends made him skeptical of surveys that suggested Republicans were “on the verge of a big breakthrough with Black voters.”

‘Be strong’

Harris’ campaign travel this year aims to put a spotlight on her party’s top policy priorities. She trekked to Atlanta in January to give a pep talk to frustrated voting rights advocates who are facing steep challenges after a series of humbling political and legal setbacks.

She recently joined with reality star Kim Kardashian to promote criminal justice measures aimed at steering nonviolent drug offenders from longer prison sentences. And she will travel to Florida this week for her “Fight for Reproductive Freedoms” tour on the same day the state’s anti-abortion law takes effect.

In Atlanta, she started her trip with a visit to the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, where chief executive Jay Bailey told her about the initiative’s work to build a more vibrant ecosystem of Black-owned businesses.

Credit: undefined

Credit: undefined

During a tour of the facility, she quizzed small business owners about their struggles to grow their companies. When one asked her about a federal program from innovators, Harris paused.

“The fact that you are asking this question tells me we have a lot more work to do,” she said.

At a nearby conference center, she joined a moderated conversation with Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings of the “Earn Your Leisure” outlet where she encouraged Black entrepreneurs to seek out mentors and “don’t hear no” even when faced with obstacles.

“Let’s not let society or history impede or silence those ambitions,” she said, adding: “Don’t give up because we need you. Our country needs you. And that’s how we’re going to be strong.”