by Alander Rocha and Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder, [This article first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, republished with permission]
October 29, 2026
With a U.S. Senate seat, the governor’s mansion and a slew of other statewide races on the ballot, former President Barack Obama visited Georgia Wednesday to fire up supporters to elect a slate of Democrats and send a message to the White House.
The former president joined U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is up for reelection, and Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, in a jam-packed arena in Morrow, which is just south of Atlanta.
The rally also featured other Democratic candidates running for statewide office, including state Rep. Tanya Miller, who is running for attorney general, Penny Brown Reynolds, who is running for secretary of state, and state Sen. Josh McLaurin, who is running for lieutenant governor.
Already, 2.2 million Georgians have cast a ballot as of Wednesday, with just two more days to vote early. Election Day is Tuesday.
At the rally, Obama railed against President Donald Trump, describing the previous “two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence” under the Trump administration and Republicans. He said that voters are “so ready for something new” and that “it feels like change is in the air.”
“I don’t have to tell you how tough things are out there. You’re living it,” Obama said.
Obama argued that many voters who helped get Trump elected in 2024 were frustrated with post-pandemic inflation and thought that he might turn things around, but instead, Obama said that prices have continued to go up because of Trump policies. He pointed to Trump’s tariffs that have destabilized long-standing trade agreements and the war in Iran that he described as “an unnecessary war that nobody asked for and nobody voted for.”
“These are not serious people, and we’re all paying a price for their lack of seriousness,” Obama said.
But Obama ended his speech on a positive and optimistic note, saying that “this election can be a start” of change.
Democrats are feeling bullish about their chances of seeing a “blue wave” in a year that Republicans are struggling to hold on to seats that would normally be considered safe for Republicans. Obama has been traveling the country targeting a few races that are considered competitive and could be a toss-up, holding rallies in Michigan and Ohio.
Ossoff, who is the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, was initially seen as a top target for Republicans. But Ossoff has maintained a lead in polls against Republican Congressman Mike Collins. In the governor’s race, polling averages show that Bottoms is deadlocked with billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson.
Ossoff used the moment to try to boost Bottoms and other Democrats on the ballot.
“Georgia, with just six days to go, I’m here to tell you I have no doubt our victory is near at hand,” Ossoff said. “In six days, our juggernaut coordinated campaign will have turned out the vote like never before to elect Josh McLaurin, Penny Brown Reynolds, Tanya Miller and Democrats up and down the ballot. In six days, we’ll elect a Medicaid-expanding governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“And in six days, Georgia, we’ll rebuke the crook President Donald Trump with such clarity and power that no president will ever dare such abuses again for centuries,” he added, to which the crowd erupted with chants of “yes, we can.”
Before Ossoff took the stage, Bottoms promoted her platform that includes providing more funding toward education and pre-K, along with raising teacher pay. Bottoms received major applause and cheers when she said she would pause construction on new data center development, work to abolish Georgia’s six-week abortion ban and stand up to Trump.
She also took the opportunity to continue to tie Jackson to Trump, saying that Jackson supports Trump policies because he personally and financially benefits from them. She pointed to Trump’s lax stances on data centers and pointed to Jackson’s investment in a Texas data center project. Jackson is endorsed by Trump and has campaigned at two of the president’s rallies this month, but he has also taken steps to distance himself from the White House.
“Slick Rick has made it clear that his number one priority will be to do whatever his big daddy Donald Trump tells him to do,” Bottoms said.
Republicans raced to downplay Obama’s visit, with Emma Hall, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, saying in a statement before the rally that Bottoms and Ossoff needed Obama “because they can’t stand on their own records of coddling criminal illegals, defunding the police and putting Georgia last.”
Jackson’s campaign called Obama’s rally a life raft for Bottoms. Spokesperson Garrison Douglas said that “Obama can’t cover up the fact that Keisha Lance Bottoms is a failed mayor who abandoned her city after making it less affordable and less safe.”
But the rally felt like anything but a rescue mission. Instead, the rally had the hallmarks of a celebration. In between speakers, Clark Atlanta University’s marching band the Mighty Marching Panthers and artist Janelle Monae performed, and at other times, rally goers danced and sang along to loud music as if they were in a concert.
Nell Robison, a 44-year-old actor who attended the rally with his family, said he was excited to show his sons the importance of casting their vote.
“I wanted them to see our first Black president, and I want them to understand how important politics is, not just at the presidential level, but also at the governor level, senate level, things like that,” he said.
Obama’s endorsement of Ossoff and Bottoms, he added, would likely serve to energize Georgia voters in the midterms.
“Whoever that man supports, they get a strong turnout,” he said. “Just the fact that he’s putting his name on the line for these people shows a lot, and a lot of people came out here for him.”
Jessica Novas, a 49-year-old retired Navy veteran, said she was honored to see Obama speak, calling him her “forever president.”
She expressed skepticism, though, that visits from political figures were an effective way to reach undecided voters, arguing that rally attendees were more motivated than the general public.
But Novas’ mood illustrates another goal of these spirited political rallies: to energize attendees to encourage other Georgians to turn out and cast their ballots.
“It’s about getting what we get in the room to edify the people outside of the room, and I’m just up for the challenge in the next six days,” she said.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.