Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Hits The Campaign Trail For Joe Biden

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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks during the I Will Vote Fundraising Gala Thursday, June 6, 2019, in Atlanta. / AP

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is hitting the campaign trail to stump for former Vice President Joe Biden.

Bottoms announced on Twitter she will travel to South Carolina, an important early primary state, to appear at events and fundraisers for the Biden campaign.

I'm excited to head to South Carolina this weekend to talk about my good friend @JoeBiden. Make sure you follow @JoeForSC for my Twitter Takeover Saturday! #TeamJoe— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) September 20, 2019

She became one of Biden’s earliest supporters when she endorsed him in late June and has attended two Democratic Presidential Primary debates as a supporter.

“For me, it was most important that we have a president who doesn’t have to walk in the door and figure out where the light switch is, that we have somebody who can lead on Day One,” Bottoms said after she announced her endorsement.

Her support for Biden existed before his announced White House bid when she was among those who defended him after sexual harassment allegations and backlash for his behavior with women.

When he was criticized for inappropriate touching, she tweeted “Everyone’s experience is their own. As for mine, I found my introduction and interaction with [Biden] to be genuine and endearing,” alongside a photo of the two touching foreheads. 

The three-day campaign trip in South Carolina includes stops in Laurens, Columbia, and Charleston.

The mayor’s first stop in the southern red state includes a keynote address at the first Laurens County Democratic Party’s “Jim Bryan Dinner” on Friday. The theme of the dinner is “women in politics.”

Bottoms’ next two stops will both focus on women’s rights. On Saturday, she’s scheduled to discuss the 25th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act over coffee with local women in Columbia, the state’s capitol.

Biden has been a key sponsor and advocate for the Violence Against Women Act since the 1990s. The bill is designed to protect victims of domestic abuse and has allocated $7 billion in grants to agencies working to prevent domestic violence since it was created.

It was reauthorized in the U.S. House of Representatives this year, but is still awaiting approval in the Senate.

Later Saturday, Bottoms will speak at the Women’s Empowerment Conference in Columbia, as well as participate in a political forum at the conference.

She will then turn her attention to voter participation with a trip to Charleston to speak at the South Carolina Coalition for Voter Participation’s annual dinner.

Voter participation is a hot topic in Georgia as well, especially since former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams launched her voter rights initiative Fair Fight after losing the 2018 election.

Bottoms is also a longtime proponent of voter rights, appearing at the "I Will Vote" gala in Atlanta earlier this year. Biden also made an appearance at the gala, although Bottoms had not yet endorsed his candidacy at the time.