Obama looks to boost Georgia Democrats' midterm election chances with Atlanta rally

ATLANTA - Barack Obama was in metro Atlanta to help campaign for Georgia Democratic candidates ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.

With election day only 11 days always, the former president rallyed with Sen. Rapahel Warnock and Stacey Abrams to try and convince as many Georgians as they can to get out and vote.

Warnock faces a stiff challenge from Republican nominee Herschel Walker. Abrams is trying to unseat Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who narrowly defeated her four years ago.

Multiple Democratic candidates for federal and state offices attended as Biden and Democrats try to stave off a strong Republican push to upend Democrats’ narrow majorities in the House and Senate and claim key governorships ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

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"This election matters Georgia!" said former Pres. Obama.

Stacey Abrams is trying to unseat Gov. Brian Kemp.

"It's time to fire the governor and hire someone new!" said Abrams.

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock is in a very tight race with challenger Herschel Walker. It's a race that could shift the balance of power in the Senate.

"I'm going to stand up for the best of the American spirit. Georgia you're leading the way because you sent me to the senate," said Warnock.

Mr. Obama also took a jab at Herschel Walker, bringing up that badge he flashed during a debate earlier this month.

"Who will fight to keep your family safe? Someone who carries around a phony badge and says he's in law enforcement? Or is it leaders like Raphael Warnock?" said former President Obama.

Former President Obama said Georgians have the opportunity to elect a new type of leader who will face today's challenges head on. He said, to do that, everyone has to get out and vote.

"I need you to get off the couch and vote. If enough of us make our voices heard, things will get better," said former President Obama.

With Biden’s job approval ratings in the low 40s amid sustained inflation, he’s an albatross for Democrats like Warnock, but party strategists see Obama as having extensive reach even in a time of hyperpartisanship and economic uncertainty.

Obama left office in January 2017 with a 59% approval rating, and Gallup measured his post-presidential approval at 63% the following year, the last time the organization surveyed former presidents. That’s considerably higher than his ratings in 2010, when Democrats lost control of the House in a midterm election that Obama called a "shellacking." In his second midterm election four years later, the GOP regained control of the Senate.

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Walker remarked on the former president's visit during a campaign stop on Saturday.

"President Obama was here last night," Walker said "He said I'm a celebrity. He got that one wrong, didn't he? I'm not a celebrity, I'm a warrior for God. He got something else wrong, too. Remember two years ago he told us to vote for Joe Biden, didn't he? He got that one wrong, did he not? He's lost twice to Georgia already, hasn't he, so I think he probably needs to sit this one out."

So far, more than 1.2 million Georgians have already voted - a record number for a midterm election in the state. Most of those have been in-person votes. About 118,000 people have voted absentee. 

That's about 18% of Georgia's active voters.

While the candidates are urging people to get out and let their voices be heard, they've also been busy on the campaign trail.

In the gubernatorial race, Abrams and Kemp traveled the state making their case for why voters should choose them.

"We deserve a governor who believes in investing in the fundamentals of education, of healthcare, of housing, and of making a good living. We need a governor who will expand Medicaid in the state of Georgia," Abrams said,

"Well listen, just campaigning on my record of being the number one state in the country for business, for having the lowest unemployment rate in the history of the state, the most people ever working in the history of the state," Kemp said at a campaign stop. 

The Democrats' event starts at 5:30 p.m. in College Park.

Friday is also the last day for eligible Georgians to submit an application for an absentee ballot. You can learn more about how to request a ballot on the Georgia Secretary of State's website.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.