Barack Obama campaigns for Democrats in Georgia ahead of midterms

In a close battle for the USSenate in Georgiathat may determine whether the party maintains control of the chamber after the 2019 midterm elections, Democrats turned to former President Barack Obama for support.

Obama, a two-term Democratwho left office in 2017, campaigned in Atlanta for Senator Raphael Warnock, who is up against Republican candidate Herschel Walker, who is sponsored by Donald Trump. According to polls, Warnock and Walker's Republican opponent are in a statistical tie.

Obama urged the over 5,000 supporters in the crowd to cast their votes on 8 November.

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"I am here to tell you tuning out is not an option. Despair is not an option," he said.

"The fundamental question you should be asking yourself right now is: 'Who will fight for you?'"

The largely African-American crowd that jammed the arena just outside Atlanta chantedObama's signature slogan: "Yes we can" as he spoke.

Republicans are focusing heavily on taking over Georgia because they only need to gain one seat to take over the Senate. President Joe Biden, Warnock, and Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff were all elected in the typically conservative Georgia two years ago, indicating the beginnings of a political shift.

Obama also visited to support Stacey Abrams, a Democrat running against Republican Brian Kemp for governor. In that game, Abrams has routinely lagged Kemp.

Democrats are growing more concerned about the Senate contest at the time of his travel. Walker, a former football star at the University of Georgia who has been hounded by inquiries about his tumultuous personal life, had been losing ground to Warnock in the polls to Walker for months.

Walker has since reduced the gap. Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat in the Senate, was overheard by a television camera microphone on Thursday informing President Biden that the Georgia election was "going downhill."

Obama slammed Walker by equating him to the former President Donald Trump. Obama stated, "It seems to me he's a celebrity who wants to be a politician," Obama said. "And we've seen how that goes."

Warnock's unexpected victory two years ago depended heavily on a surge of Black voters, and Obama's visit was mostly intended to encourage same population to turn out once more.

The Georgia Secretary of State's office reports that a record number of early voters have cast ballots in Georgia. By Friday, more than 1.25 million voters had cast ballots, far more than had done so at this point in 2018, the year of the most recent midterm election (730,706).

(With inputs from agencies)

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