December 26, 2024

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on July 27, 2024.

Stephanie Scarbrough | via Reuters

A massive campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign could draw more than 10,000 people in Atlanta on Tuesday night, breaking the limits of the Georgia State University venue and the largest of this Biden-turned-Harris campaign. scale activities.

Long before the rally was set to begin on Tuesday, the rapper was taking part in the event Megan Thee Stallion 19,000 responses received, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, told the Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionGreg Brustein.

With four hours to go before Harris’ speech was scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET, the line to get in stretched to the block outside the university conference center, where a Official capacity is over 7,500 people.

To demonstrate Harris’ bipartisan appeal, former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan, a Republican expected to attend. Williams, Georgia Democrats including U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, as well as Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams also Will attend.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

Harris has seen a surge in grassroots momentum and high-dollar donations since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race against former President Donald Trump.

The wave of support could bring swing states like Georgia back into Democratic territory after months of declines led by Biden.

“You’ve heard us talk about the need to build infrastructure in all battlegrounds to win close elections, but it’s clear that the vice president is motivating and mobilizing,” Harris campaign field director Dan Kaninen told reporters on Monday. Our foundation.

Georgia, once a deep red stronghold, has been tilted in favor of Democrats over the past few election cycles due to its growing population of black and Latino voters who make up a major part of the party’s base.

Megan Thee Stallion performs at the 2024 New Year’s Eve Celebration in Times Square on December 31, 2023 in New York City.

Noam Garay | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

But polls show Biden is lagging behind in demographics this year, and Harris’ campaign hopes the new presidential candidate can help reverse that trend.

Since Biden dropped out, Harris has raised more than $200 million, two-thirds of which came from new donors, according to the campaign. This activity also greatly strengthened the volunteer team, with the number of newly registered volunteers reaching 360,000.

The Georgia campaign marks Harris’ second official rally in the 2024 presidential race, although surrogates including vice presidential candidates have campaigned for her at thousands of events, including about 2,300 over the weekend .

Harris’ first rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, drew more than 3,000 people, making it the largest campaign event of this election cycle.

With less than 100 days until the November election and even less time until early voting begins, the campaign hopes to turn Harris’ initial wave of hype into real swing-state victories.

Polls so far show Harris re-engaging with Trump, narrowing the gap with voters and returning the election to a near-hot state.

Although Harris is in the honeymoon phase of her first week as a 2024 presidential candidate, the campaign is not ignoring the tough battle ahead.

“We were the underdog in this game,” Canninen said Monday. “Our task now is to turn this enthusiasm into action.”

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

About The Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *