HOMER — Plopped down in lawn chairs planted along historic Homer Highway, some folks showed up before 8 a.m. — two hours before the parade began — to claim prime spots for the 59th annual Labor Day Festival.
The crowd swelled that Saturday to well over 1,000 by noon. Kids scurried for candy thrown from passengers in shined-up 1950s Chevrolet trucks and muscle cars from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The high school football team, marching band and cheerleaders — the Leopards, decked out in blue and white — drew big cheers. Shriners and Freemasons on motorcycles and go-karts did burnouts and cut doughnuts.
And all around were markers that this is Donald Trump country. For Republican groups, the end-of-summer event meant business.
“Tell your neighbors, friends and all your family,” Brian Parker, chair of the Banks County Republican Party, told one passerby. “We’re going to win this county, but we need as many votes here as we can get to take away from all the votes in Fulton County.”
Two months from the election, Parker and other Republicans canvassed the festival with pitches to increase voter turnout. Nearly 89% of voters in Banks County opted for Trump in 2020. However, Joe Biden carried Georgia by about 12,000 votes.
Parker was joined by Andrew Clyde, the Republican member of the U.S. House for the 9th Congressional District, which includes Banks and surrounding counties.
“If northeast Georgia turns out, we can have a significant impact on this state,” Clyde said.
At the beginning of summer, many conservatives in Banks County said they were confident Trump would easily defeat Biden this time. The race has tightened nationally since Vice President Kamala Harris replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee.
Parker said local Republicans have “at least as much confidence as before,” and that Democrats “changed one clown for another.”
Martha Ramsey, chair of Banks County Republican Women, said she called more than 350 people and knocked on more than 50 doors the past two weeks pushing for Trump.
“Harris talks about all the good she has done the past four years, but it’s not true,” Ramsey said.
Other Banks County Republicans sounded more cautious. Sam Moon, a 76-year-old Vietnam War veteran, said he agrees with Trump “95% of the time.” But the former schoolteacher and longtime farmer said he doesn’t like the way Trump sometimes talks about women.
“That other 5% of the time he opens his mouth makes me cringe,” said Moon, who plans to vote for Trump but wonders whether enough female voters will join him.
Talking less would serve Trump well, said Bo Garrison, a Republican member of the County Commission and the owner of David and Katie’s Amish Store. He fears Trump’s personality could push some people to not vote.
“He’s been arrogant for so long, arrogance rules his mind,” Garrison said.
Still, Trump’s popularity here was clear at the festival. Many people wore MAGA hats and shirts. There were numerous signs, banners and flags displayed with messages including “Save Our Children, Vote Republican” and “Fight For Our County, Trump 2024.”
Dozens of people milled about the three tents set up by the Republicans.
“Somebody needs to tell those Democrats they’re in the wrong place” one Trump supporter joked, nodding to the Democrats’ less-trafficked, lone tent.
The Democrats’ tent had a sign that said “It’s OK to change your mind” and a “spin-the-wheel” game with prizes, attracting some school-age youths. But Democrats collected just three email addresses from people between 8 a.m. and noon, and a reporter didn’t see anyone outside the tent wearing Harris-themed clothing.
Sue Mager, who was working the Democratic tent, initially thought it was too risky to pivot from Biden to Harris. But she has grown more hopeful.
“I am absolutely impressed because I believe Kamala has come a heck of a long way,” Mager said. “I think she can do it.”
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
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