Harris Atlanta rally will test her momentum on the ground in a key swing state

A major campaign rally for Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential run could draw a crowd of more than 10,000 people Tuesday night in Atlanta, stretching the limits of the Georgia State University venue and marking the largest event of the Biden-turned-Harris campaign this cycle.

Long before the rally was slated to begin Tuesday, the event with rapper Megan Thee Stallion had received 19,000 RSVPs, U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, chair of the Democratic party of Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Greg Bluestein.

Four hours before the expected start of Harris’ 7:00 p.m. ET speech, the line for entry stretched far down the city block outside the university’s Convocation Center, which has an official capacity of more than 7,500.

In a display of Harris’ bipartisan appeal, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, is expected to attend. Georgia Democratic lawmakers such as Williams and U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock will also be there, along with Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

In the week since President Joe Biden dropped out of the race against former President Donald Trump, Harris has enjoyed a surge of grassroots momentum and high-dollar donations.

The wave of support potentially puts swing states such as Georgia back on the map for Democrats, after months of slipping support with Biden helming the ticket.

“You’ve heard us talk about the need to have the infrastructure across all the battlegrounds to win close elections, but it’s clear the Vice President is energizing and mobilizing our base,” Harris campaign battleground director Dan Kanninen said Monday on a call with reporters.

Once a deep red stronghold, Georgia has been in play for Democrats over the past few election cycles due to growing populations of Black and Latino voters that make up a major part of the party’s base.

But polls showed Biden lagging with those same demographics this year, a trend that Harris’ campaign is hoping its new presidential candidate can help reverse.

Since Biden’s exit, Harris has raised more than $200 million, two-thirds of which came from new donors, according to the campaign. The campaign has also hugely boosted its volunteer force with 360,000 new volunteer sign-ups.

The Georgia event marks Harris’ second official rally of her 2024 presidential campaign, though surrogates, including VP hopefuls, have stumped for her in thousands of events including roughly 2,300 over the weekend.

Harris’ first rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, drew a crowd of more than 3,000 people, then the largest of any of the campaign’s events this election cycle.

With just under 100 days until the November election and even less time until early voting kicks off, the campaign is hoping it can translate the wave of initial Harris hype into real swing-state wins.

Polls have so far found that Harris has revived the race against Trump, closing the gap with voters and bringing the election back to a near dead heat.

Despite the honeymoon phase that has characterized Harris’ first week as a 2024 presidential candidate, the campaign is not ignorant of the uphill battle ahead.

“We are the underdogs in this race,” Kanninen said Monday. “Our task now is to translate that enthusiasm into action.”