SAVANNAH — Two months ago, Tim Walz vowed during a visit to a Savannah-area barbecue joint to return to what’s often called “the other Georgia” — the parts of the state beyond metro Atlanta — before the 2024 election cycle ends.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota governor and Democratic nominee for vice president made good on the promise, campaigning in the border towns of Savannah and Columbus. Both cities are Democratic strongholds and have become frequent waypoints along the campaign trail in the run-up to Election Day next Tuesday.
Walz started the afternoon in Savannah, addressing supporters at Victory North, a live music venue south of downtown. He then flew across the state to Columbus to host a rally at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center.
During the Savannah event, Walz touted the policy positions of his presidential running mate, Kamala Harris, on issues such as abortion, education and homeownership. Yet he focused much of his 20-minute speech on the contrasts between the Harris-Walz ticket and the opposition, Republicans Donald Trump and JD Vance.
“In these last seven days, let’s talk turkey. Donald Trump is a loser,” Walz said of the former president and three-time GOP presidential nominee. “He loses jobs. He loses businesses. He loses in court. And no matter what JD Vance says, he lost the 2020 election.”
The disparaging of Trump parroted previous Harris-Walz campaign appearances in Savannah. Harris held a rally in the city in late August during a two-day swing along the Georgia coast that also included Walz and featured the food run to Sandfly BBQ. Earlier this month, Harris’ husband and sister, Doug Emhoff and Maya Harris, held a get-out-the-vote event at the Savannah Cultural Arts Center.
On Tuesday, the several hundred supporters in attendance at Walz’s event jeered at the mention of Trump’s name and references to recent comments heard at his rallies. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson welcomed attendees to the campaign stop by lampooning Trump over insulting remarks about Puerto Rico made by a speaker at a Sunday rally. He also mentioned Trump’s repeated claims that Haitian immigrants living in Ohio eat their neighbors’ pets.
“We love Puerto Ricans,” said Johnson, who went on to list several other groups, from members of the military and veterans to the elderly, before closing with “and we love our dogs and cats.”
Walz encouraged Savannah Democrats to campaign on his and Harris’ behalf with their friends and neighbors. Urban areas such as Savannah and Columbus saw high voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election, a trend that helped then-candidate Joe Biden become the first Democrat running for president to win the state since 1992.
Early voting in Chatham County, home to Savannah, is rivaling the turnout of four years ago, with 73,000 ballots cast as of Tuesday morning. In 2020, 94,000 Chatham County residents voted before Election Day.
When the crowd at Tuesday’s Savannah rally was asked who hadn’t voted yet, only a few raised their hands, indicating the overwhelming majority were among the early voters. Walz channeled his background as a football coach to motivate them to “keep striving” in the final days of the campaign.
“This thing is tied and you know it. The good news is we’ve got the ball,” Walz said. “We are driving it down the field. We have the best quarterback in Kamala Harris to lead the way. And the team in this room is the right team to win.”
Walz’s swing in areas outside Atlanta comes as Harris and other high-profile surrogates, such as former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, along with billionaire investor Mark Cuban, stump in Atlanta.
Trump held two events in the Atlanta area on Monday.
