As a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump for the presidency becomes more likely by the day, the two will hold duelling events in Georgia on Saturday.
In a month-long effort to reach out to voters in battleground states, Biden will continue his trip that began after the State of the Union by travelling to the Atlanta area. In the northwest region of the state, Trump will also be holding a rally as he cranks up his own political agenda in preparation for the general election.
The early glimpse into the duelling tactics for appealing to an electorate that is less than thrilled about another Biden-Trump battle will be provided by their head-to-head appearances, which are spaced out by approximately 60 miles of Georgia highway. The Peach State is a natural place to begin the eight-month struggle since it will be one of the most closely watched battlegrounds for indications of how voters are responding to the outreach. Four years ago, Biden won by less than 12,000 votes in Georgia.
The state of Georgia has been at the centre of national politics since 2018, according to Fred Hicks, a Democratic strategist hailing from the Peach State. “The president is restarting his campaign and attempting to regain momentum,” the source said, “so it’s fitting that this would be the first major stop after the State of the Union.”
At a critical juncture in the presidential campaign, the two make their way to Georgia. Trump’s first rally since becoming the presumed nominee for his party was on Saturday. He nearly swept the nominating contests on Super Tuesday and picked up nine more delegates in Friday’s Republican caucus in American Samoa, and he pushed former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to finally end her longshot presidential campaign. On Tuesday, when Georgia and three other states distribute their delegates, his nomination could move a symbolic step closer to being official.
Biden, meanwhile, made a clear turn towards the forthcoming political struggle in his stirring State of the Union speech. Although he avoided mentioning Trump by name throughout his roughly 70-minute speech, he made numerous allusions to “my predecessor” and went to great measures to set the stage for the November election.
This is the second time in as many weeks that the two men have been on screen together. Both Biden and Trump made simultaneous trips to the US-Mexico border last month.
Biden invades the battlefield
The Biden campaign is launching what it’s calling the “I’m on Board” campaign this Saturday, the second of several trips planned for this month in an effort to build on the president’s State of the Union address and amplify it. On Friday, Biden stopped by a middle school in the Philadelphia region.
In a press conference with reporters on Friday, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez announced that the group is launching coalition groups, investing in new paid media campaigns, “dramatically expanding our volunteer engagement,” and increasing the number of people working on the ground.
The campaign said that Biden and Harris will be visiting every state that is considered a contest in the next weeks. Biden is scheduled to visit Michigan, Wisconsin, and New Hampshire next week.
An intensive mobilisation of the varied Biden-Harris coalition will be carried out throughout this month of action, according to Rodriguez.
This includes Saturday’s stop in Georgia, a swing state that was pivotal in the Democrats’ victories in the last two presidential and senate elections.
But early state polls put Trump ahead. The Biden campaign will have to rally supporters without the assistance of important contenders farther down the ballot since the US Senate election will not pass through Georgia in 2020.
Democratic strategist Andrew Heaton, who previously worked for Georgia Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock, said that low turnout would be a result of the lack of any significant statewide races or other races on the ballot.
In an effort to turn Biden’s age into an advantage, his campaign released a one-minute ad—his first of the general election—that tackles the political vulnerability. Additionally, three major political action groups that are working to ensure equality for Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Black Americans will be endorsing the president on Saturday.
On Saturday, Biden will join the PACs Collective PAC, which seeks to strengthen Black political power; AAPI Victory Fund, which seeks to expand the political voice of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; and Latino Victory Fund, which aspires to do the same for Latinos, at an endorsement event in Atlanta.
Black men are an important component of the winning coalition, according to Democratic strategists. Biden will have to reach out to them.
Hicks emphasised that many of Biden’s actions, such as his attempts to reduce healthcare costs and curb price gouging, went unnoticed by Black voters.
“They make their home inside the DC bubble,” Hicks remarked. They also mistakenly believe that their policies are well-known and understood, and that those outside of Washington, DC, feel the effects of them. As a result, they will need to explain their actions to others.
The most heavily purchased state in the three-week radio advertising campaign targeting Black voters in battleground states was Georgia, which was started this week by the Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA, Inc.
Black voters who feel unheard or ignored by the Democratic Party present an opportunity, according to the Trump team, which is devising plans to appeal to them. Last autumn, polls in key battleground states showed that Trump was gaining support from Black voters, which gave some Republicans hope.
