Star power showdown: Trump, Obama, Harris storm Georgia as early voting nears end

by Tim Darnell

(Editor’s note: The video above is from an earlier report.)

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Republicans and Democrats are emptying their benches in Georgia, sending presidents (and maybe some wannabes), vice presidents - and country music superstar Jason Aldean - to rally voters before early voting ends Oct. 30, 2026.

Here’s who’s coming to town and when:

Friday: Georgia Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson is holding a rally in metro Atlanta’s Henry County with U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz speaks to delegates and attendees at the 2026 Texas Republican Convention in Houston on June 13, 2026. Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune

The event is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Zipp Hinton hangar on Sam Soloman Road in Locust Grove, Georgia.

Saturday: President Donald Trump is holding a rally in Perry, Georgia, and according to the White House, Aldean will greet the president on the tarmac after departs Air Force One. He will also take the stage with the nation’s 47th president, but is not scheduled to perform.

Jason Aldean speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a Turning Point Action campaign rally, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Duluth, Ga. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Aldean was born in Macon and has been a consistent supporter of the president.

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary - and former presidential candidate - Pete Buttigieg will participate in a get-out-the-vote push with U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, 13th district congressional candidate Jasmine Clark and others.

Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg talks with supporters on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at Metropolitan Community College. Buttigieg was in Omaha to support Nebraska Congressional candidate Denise Powell.

Buttigieg has been crisscrossing the nation in this election season and has been mentioned as a potential White House candidate in 2028.

Wednesday: Former President Barack Obama will visit metro Atlanta to campaign for Ossoff and gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is hoping to become the nation’s first Black female governor.

FILE - Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2024, in Clarkston, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)

Ossoff’s seat is being seen as crucial by national Democrats to keeping a close margin with Republicans in the U.S. Senate. He is being challenged by U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who appeared at Trump’s northwest Georgia rally last week and who has closely aligned himself with the 47th president.

Thursday: Former Vice President Kamala Harris is participating in an NAACP voting drive ahead of ...

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with the Rev. Wendell Anthony, President of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, and the Rev. Genetta Y. Hatcher during a fireside chat on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, at Fellowship Church in Detroit.

Friday: ... when she will headline a Fulton County Democrats’ fundraising event.

Vice President JD Vance was in Atlanta last week, rallying supporters at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

More than 1 million early votes have already been cast in the state’s nationally watched 2026 midterms.

Election day itself is Nov. 3, 2026.

Georgia’s governor’s seat is a wide open race in 2026, with Bottoms and Jackson seemingly locked in a statistical dead heat in their campaigns to succeed outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp.

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