Former President Bill Clinton just wrapped up a two-day swing through southwest Georgia that featured a fish fry, a visit to the state fair, a church service and a McDonald’s pitstop, all in the name of trying to rally Democrats in this corner of the state to the polls as early voting starts Tuesday.
It was once familiar turf for Clinton, who was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia until President Joe Biden’s upset victory in 2020. He concluded Monday in Columbus, where he long ago kicked off his “Bubbas for Bill” bus tour in the early 1990s.
The former Arkansas governor turned on his signature folksy charm Monday, bantering about candy apples with an audience member and sticking around for photos and greetings.
Former President Bill Clinton greets fans after a campaign event in Columbus Monday. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
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But Clinton was there to talk business.
“You’ve just got to decide how bad you want this,” Clinton said in Columbus Monday, speaking in a parking lot outside the local Democratic coordinated campaign office.
He attributed the recent close elections in Georgia – and the Democratic victories in 2020 – to Democrats putting up a fight throughout the state.
“We did it not just because we did well in Atlanta, but because where there was an opportunity anywhere outside Atlanta, we punched above our weight,” Clinton said.
“So that’s what this election is coming down to. If you want it bad enough, you can win, and you’ll be proud of yourself for the rest of your life, and your children and grandchildren will be grateful. And if you decide you’ve got something better to do for the next few days, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life,” he added.
While Clinton was stumping in rural and mid-size Georgia cities, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running-mate Tim Walz were campaigning in the so-called blue wall states hundreds of miles away.
Georgia is seen as one of seven swing states that could decide who wins the Nov. 5 election. Trump famously lost Georgia by less than 12,000 votes in 2020.
Clinton’s visit is part of a flurry of campaign events seeking to fire up supporters during the first week of early voting in Georgia. Former President Donald Trump, who was in Pennsylvania Monday, will hold two events Tuesday in Georgia, including a Fox News town hall in Forsyth County with women voters and a rally in Cobb County.
Harris is set to hold a rally in Atlanta this Saturday, and her husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, who was just here last week, is planning to drop into Savannah on Thursday. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro campaigned in metro Atlanta over the weekend.
Harris supporters who showed up Monday to see Clinton said they were buoyed by the former president’s visit and the attention being paid to Georgia’s smaller communities.
“Maybe you think he’s kind of a big deal and maybe he wouldn’t go to these places, but it’s kind of like well we’re a big deal. We could determine this election,” said Alex Coats, a Columbus resident.
“It’s a very fraught environment,” Coats said, referring to controversial new rules pushed through recently by the State Election Board like one requiring poll workers to hand count ballots on election night. “And I think it’s just like, please come be here.”
Joyce Richburg, a Columbus resident, said she thought Clinton’s visit would have special appeal for older voters who lived through Clinton’s two terms in the White House.
“With him coming today, that might be a reassurance to some people to get out the vote and say, ‘Hey, you know, we really want this to happen,’ because, as they say, it’s neck and neck,” she said.
Gail Franz, who lives in Midland just outside of Columbus, grew up in Arkansas and served as a Georgia delegate for Clinton when he won the state in 1992. She participated in part of Clinton’s lengthy caravan that crisscrossed south Georgia that year.
Franz, who says she is a more moderate Democrat, said she thinks Harris can win Georgia if she works “extra hard” in these coming weeks.
“I’m sure hoping because the other one scares me to death,” Franz said.
