Obama directs Democratic star power to critical Georgia Senate election

ATLANTA — Democrats brought in their biggest star, Barack Obama, on Friday as the former president thrilled Georgia voters, Help the party retain important US Senate seats.

Obama, a Democrat who stepped down from the presidency in 2017, will face Senator Raphael Warnock (Donald Trump-backed Republican challenger Herschel Walker) in Atlanta and Stacy Abrams (Dr. Ms Stacey Abrams) will struggle.

Polls show the competition between Mr. Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker is fierce, with Mr. Abrams consistently trailing Mr. Kemp.

Georgia is a top Republican takeover target, To gain control of the Senate, one seat must be won. The historically conservative state elected both President Joe Biden and Warnock and Democratic Senator John Ossoff two years ago, signaling a move to political realignment.

“Georgia played a crucial role in the previous cycle and will likely be in the same position in the coming weeks,” said Eric Schultz, a spokesman for President Obama.

“Given the stakes of this year’s election, our goal is simple: encourage voters to vote.”

Obama’s visit comes at a time when Democrats are increasingly worried about the Senate election. For months, Mr. Warnock steadily outperformed Mr. Walker in the polls. Walker, a former University of Georgia football player, has been plagued with questions about his tumultuous personal life.

Since then, Mr. Walker has closed the gap. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer was caught on a television camera microphone on Thursday at an event telling Biden that the election in Georgia was going “downhill.”

Mr. Schumer told Mr. Biden: “It’s hard to believe they would endorse Herschel Walker.”

Mr. Walker is facing domestic violence allegations from his ex-wife. Most recently, two women have claimed that Walker pressured them to have abortions during their relationship, a claim he denies.

Walker opposes abortion, but is inconsistent about whether it should be allowed in cases of rape or incest or to protect the health of the mother. Warnock, senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta supports abortion rights.

On Friday, the Democratic Senate Recruiting Committee, which supports Warnock, launched a new TV ad focused on domestic violence allegations as part of a $7 million investment toward the end of the campaign.

Ahead of the evening’s event with Obama, Warnock campaigned in the Dalton countryside north of Atlanta. Walker, meanwhile, was stranded in the southeastern part of the state with evangelical activist Ralph Reed.

“Momentum is on our side, but the game isn’t over until the clock hits zero,” Walker said on his campaign’s Facebook page, posting a video of Schumer and Biden.