Dr. Jill Biden stressed the importance of voting during a campaign stop in Columbus Monday — the first day of early voting — as several polls show her husband, Joe Biden, and President Donald Trump are virtually tied in Georgia.
Hundreds of voters swarmed Columbus’ City Services Center to cast their ballots. At Warehouse 9 Restaurant, where Jill Biden spoke, many in the audience raised their hands when she asked if they had voted yet. One man told Biden that he got in line at 4:30 a.m.
“I think that’s really going to be what it takes,” she said. “People are going to have to just go really early. Take your chairs, take a bag of breakfast and a cup of coffee and be prepared to wait. Americans are so dedicated this election to voting because they see there’s so much at stake.”
U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop, State Reps. Calvin Smyre and Carolyn Hugley, State Sen. Ed Harbison and other local Democratic officials were among those who attended or appeared alongside the former second lady of the United States.
It was Biden’s second stop in Georgia. Earlier in the day, she appeared in DeKalb County alongside former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and other state party leaders.
In Columbus, Biden spoke for roughly nine minutes about voting and the efforts she would take as first lady to support military veterans and their families. She took no questions from reporters after speaking. She spent the rest of her time at the event greeting military families and speaking with them about their ideas and concerns.
Biden, alongside former first lady Michelle Obama, launched Joining Forces in 2011. The nationwide initiative launched under the Obama Administration was meant to draw attention to the service, sacrifice and needs of military families. Education, employment, as well as emotional, physical and financial well-being were key areas of focus.
“We’re not going to wait until Joe is sworn into office and then start to work on some of the things that I’m hearing from all of you,” she said. “We’re starting now. ...The ideas are coming from you.”
Among those who spoke to Biden after the event was Cleveland Ashley, a 72-year-old Army veteran who served as a pilot during the Vietnam War.
Ashley, who lives in Midland, says he sees many signs showing support for Trump. But he wanted to let Biden know that her husband has support in Columbus.
“He’s genuine and real,” Ashley said of the former vice president. “He will do more for the veterans than has been done in the past. ... He’s honest and sincere.”
Several polls show Joe Biden and Trump are neck-and-neck in Georgia.
USA Today, using polling averages calculated by RealClearPolitics and FiveThirtyEight, have Biden ahead by just .2 points in Georgia. A Democrat has not won the presidential election in Georgia since Bill Clinton in 1992. He did not win the state when he was elected to his second term.
It’s been almost as long since a Democrat was elected to the U.S. Senate in Georgia. Zell Miller’s special election victory in 2000 was the last time.
Both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate seats are on the ballot this November. Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are either leading or within striking distance of the incumbent Republicans.
An Oct. 10 poll from Public Policy Polling shows Warnock at 41%, ahead of the incumbent Kelly Loeffler at 24% and 22% for Republican U.S. Rep. Doug Collins for the special election. If no candidate receives 50% of the vote, a January runoff will occur.
The same poll shows a virtual tie for the other Senate seat, with Ossoff at 43% and David Perdue at 42%. The poll surveyed 528 voters. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3%.
Members of the Trump family were also campaigning in Georgia this week. Donald Trump Jr. held events in Savannah and Kennesaw. Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and one of his White House advisers, will travel to Acworth Oct. 13, Atlanta news station 11Alive reports.
“We can compete and we’re in the game,” said Harbison, the state senator, about Democrats. “I just believe this is the year that things will turn around.”
This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with the Macon Telegraph
