VP Kamala Harris, Gov. Tim Walz kick off bus tour in Georgia
SAVANNAH, Ga. - Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz made their first trip to Georgia together on Wednesday.
Walz was there to greet Harris when she landed at the Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport.
The Democratic duo kicked off their two-day bus tour in southern Georgia with plans to meet directly with voters and small business owners.
President Joe Biden beat former President Donald Trump by more than 25-thousand votes in Chatham County in 2020.
Just as in 2020, Democratic strategist Tharon Johnson said the road to victory for the Democrats cuts through the Peach State.
US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz greet supporters as they arrive at a campaign rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, August 7, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP
"Georgia is a top battleground state for the Republicans and the Democrats. It's a key part to the 270 electoral votes for the Harris-Walz campaign," Johnson told FOX 5's Deidra Dukes. "If she wins Georgia, it's game over, because that means she is probably going to win North Carolina. She will definitely win Virginia. She'll hold her own in key battleground states like Michigan and Pennsylvania, and also, she will compete in Nevada."
The Harris-Walz campaign has opened seven field offices in southeast Georgia.
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Chatham County Commissioner and Democratic Party Chairman Aaron Whitely said the candidates' two-day bus tour is part of the Democrats' efforts to reach voters in rural and suburban areas.
"Chatham County is normally always blue. It is our neighboring counties where you can see some red," Whitely explained. "Liberty County tends to lean blue, but we are trying to cut down on the margin in those red counties, in our neighboring counties here."
The candidates will also appear at a campaign rally in Savannah on Thursday.
Harris planned to campaign in Savannah earlier in August but canceled the event due to the serious rains and flooding caused by Tropical Storm Debby.
While Georgia appeared to be slipping out of the Democrats' reach, the nomination of Harris has led the party to have new hopes of an expanded electoral map - focusing on the Peach State's swing state status.
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The Republican candidate for vice president, Sen. JD Vance, appeared at a rally in Valdosta less than a week ago, where he took aim at Harris over the Southern border.
Trump's last visit to Atlanta was a rally with JD Vance on Aug. 3.
During the bus tour on Wednesday, Harris and Walz made a special stop at Liberty County High School in Hinesville where they were greeted by the school's band.
Afterward, they popped into Sandfly Bar-B-Q in Savannah where they met employees and voters.
At around 7:20 p.m., the bus tour took a sour turn. Savannah Police confirmed one of their motorcycle officers who was part of the motorcade was critically injured in a crash on I-516. FOX 5 Atlanta is working to learn more information about that.