Former President Obama speaks during a rally for Pennsylvania candidate for Senate John Fetterman at The Liacouras Center in Philidelphia, Pa., on Saturday, November 5, 2022.
Georgia’s Senate runoff is three weeks away, and Democrats are hoping big names like former President Obama could help put incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D) over the top against GOP candidate Herschel Walker.
While Obama has not officially announced a return to the Peach State, one source said the former president is likely to return to the campaign trail for Warnock, just as he did last month.
“If anyone can help seal the deal in a state like Georgia, it’s Obama,” one ally said. “There’s nobody on either side like him.”
During Obama’s visit, he appeared before a crowd of more than 7,000 people and spoke passionately about saving democracy.
“Democracy is not self-executing,” the former president said. “It depends on us working, nurturing, caring for it, not just on Election Day, but every day in between. It depends on us as citizens saying, ‘This matters!’ This election matters, Georgia.”
In the next few weeks, Warnock needs surrogates like Obama to help convince Democrats that it’s worth turning out even if they’ve already won the majority in the Senate.
“The hard thing about runoffs is you’re trying to replicate the enthusiasm that you had in the general election, so you have to make sure that coalition will come back out,” Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau said. “Many of those folks voted for Obama, likely twice, so having him as a surrogate is huge for Warnock.
“Given the shortened amount of time that folks have to focus on the runoff, his second appearance in Georgia might be more impactful than his first.”
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