Bill Clinton campaigns for Kamala Harris at fish fry: ‘I don’t know if we can make it without Georgia’

Standing beneath a towering pecan tree, former President Bill Clinton campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris at a Middle Georgia fish fry on Sunday, evoking memories of his own campaign strategies from over three decades ago.

Clinton took aim at former President Donald Trump and ridiculed vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s debate performance, emphasizing the negative impact of GOP policies on healthcare in rural Georgia. Most importantly, he rallied support for Harris.

“I believe she has the potential to be a truly great president,” Clinton told a crowd of several hundred, urging them to vote for her during his 30-minute speech.

This marked Clinton’s first significant appearance on the campaign trail this cycle, as he strategically traveled through South and Middle Georgia, including stops at a church service and a get-out-the-vote event in Albany. He plans to visit Columbus on Monday.

The Harris campaign sees Clinton as a valuable surrogate who can energize both rural Georgians, who have moved away from the Democratic Party, and Black voters, the party’s core base. Recent polls indicate that Harris is facing weaker support among Black voters compared to other Democratic candidates, prompting her campaign to ramp up efforts to engage these essential supporters. Both Harris and Trump are scheduled to hold rallies in Atlanta this week.

Georgia GOP chair Josh McKoon dismissed Clinton’s visit as a sign of desperation, suggesting that if Harris were performing well, there would be no need to summon “movie stars of yesterday and Democratic political stars of yesteryear” to revive her campaign.

Clinton’s appearance harkened back to his 1992 barnstorming tour through South Georgia. This time, however, his campaign stops focused on smaller, more personal interactions rather than large rallies. In Fort Valley, he was joined by U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop and two-time gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, donning a brown plaid shirt, ostrich-skin boots, and a camouflage “Harris Walz” cap.

He praised Harris’ economic plan as the best approach to reducing grocery costs and criticized Republicans for dismissing a bipartisan border security bill that could have undermined one of Trump’s key arguments.

Clinton underscored the significance of Georgia’s vote, noting that it is one of seven battleground states crucial to the November election. Both campaigns are intensifying their efforts in the state as early in-person voting begins on Tuesday.

“I’m not sure we can win without Georgia, but they have a significant challenge ahead if we do,” Clinton stated. “It wouldn’t hurt Mr. Trump to face a few more hills. I’ll even pray for him—but not to reach the top before we do.”

In Albany, he reminded Democrats that their support was pivotal in electing U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in 2021, which flipped control of the Senate.

“They want you to believe your vote doesn’t matter,” Clinton said. “But you may make a bigger difference than you ever imagined.”