ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump returned to Georgia on day one of early voting, intent on making the ultimate comeback by winning the state that led to his 2020 election defeat and subsequent prosecution.
“We want a landslide that’s too big to rig. We can’t let anything happen,” Trump told the roughly 2,800 people inside the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Tuesday evening. “Early voting is underway. Get everyone out. Get everyone you know. Just get them all out to vote. Go tomorrow.”
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Trump faces an uphill battle taking back Georgia or any of the seven battleground states that could go either way on Nov. 5.
Trump lost six of the seven battleground states in 2020 to President Joe Biden, only winning North Carolina. The states that went to President Joe Biden were Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
Ada Summers, who was born in Cuba and immigrated to the United States, said Trump “better” win Georgia this time around.
“We’re going to be in big trouble if he doesn’t because I think that all [Vice President Kamala Harris] brings is lies,” said Summers.
Trump has aired unfounded allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, particularly in Fulton County, which includes most of the city of Atlanta.
Ultimately in Georgia, Biden beat Trump by a mere 11,779 votes out of almost 5 million votes cast in 2020. It was a huge victory for Democrats because the state had gone to Republican presidential candidates every election since 1996.
Trump won overwhelmingly with a 230,000-vote margin against then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. Voters who turned out to see Trump Tuesday, like 31-year-old software developer Ryan Gible of nearby Marietta, said Trump could do it again.
“He did it before in 2016,” said Gible in an interview at the Trump event. “I think a lot of people kind of want to go back to that time, right? A lot of people are hurting economically.”
Early voting got underway Tuesday and hit a record-high for most votes cast in a presidential election year, according to the office of the Georgia Secretary of State.
“You have a lot of excitement going on outside. We’re doing very well, they tell me,” said Trump.
The campaigns for Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris spent much of last week in Arizona as early voting got started and have shifted back east as the race heats up in Georgia.
Trump’s visit to Atlanta is the first since early August amid his feud with Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA). Kemp certified the 2020 election results against Trump’s instruction.
Trump alleged that Democrats manipulated the election in Fulton County in order to boost the state’s overall count for Biden.
In the four years since then, Republicans have waged a war to protect the election and voting process, while Democrats have accused their counterparts of overstepping their legal authority.
In Feburary 2021, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched an investigation into efforts by Republicans to mettle in the state’s election results.
A grand jury indicted Trump and 18 other named defendants in August 2023. Trump was arrested and booked in Fulton County, where his mugshot was taken. Trump was indicted for violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute.
The indictment accused Trump and others of plotting to create fake electors in support of Trump and plans to access voting machines. Trump was also accused of telling Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a phone call to “find 11,780 votes” — enough votes to swing the state in his favor. Raffensperger refused and has remained in his position.
Despite pursuing charges against the Republicans, Willis has faced her own legal issues after being exposed for having a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor that she appointed to oversee the investigation.
The case against Trump is now on hold as the Georgia Court of Appeals decides whether to disqualify Willis.
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Noticeably absent from the Trump speech Tuesday evening was Kemp, who Trump praised at one point for how the governor had handled the response to Hurricane Helene but otherwise skipped mention of.
The race is locked at the moment, according to the latest polling average from RealClearPolitics. The average of surveys conducted of Georgia voters between Sept. 19 and Oct. 8 had Trump and Harris each tied at 47.1%.