Donald Trump is returning to 'must-win' Georgia after a weeks-long absence

SAVANNAH — Former President Donald Trump is making his first visit to Georgia in more than seven weeks with a stop planned Tuesday in Savannah as polls show the race against Vice President Kamala Harris is tightening.

His last stop in Georgia was for an Aug. 3 rally in Atlanta, when he revived a long-running, one-sided feud with Gov. Brian Kemp that enraged many local Republicans worried about the tight race.

Since then, both Trump and Kemp have tried to calm the waters and there have been talks about a joint appearance — though it’s unlikely to take place in Savannah. Officials say Kemp will be out of town for a long-scheduled trip that day.

Some senior state Republicans had been expressing increasing alarm about Trump’s absence in Georgia, long viewed as a must-win for his campaign. His campaign said he’ll focus on tax policy and his economic agenda during his 1 p.m. speech Tuesday at Savannah’s civic center.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released Wednesday showed a neck-and-neck race between Trump and Harris, who is trying to rebuild the coalition that propelled President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia in 2020.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, both visited Georgia last week in separate appearances. Walz on Tuesday campaigned in Macon and Atlanta, while Harris gave an impassioned speech about abortion rights at the Cobb Energy Centre on Friday.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance is slated to speak to Macon voters on Thursday, and Trump could attend the Georgia-Alabama game in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on Sept. 28.

Talk of Trump’s visit to Savannah heightened after Harris held an Aug. 29 rally in the coastal Georgia city that drew thousands of Democratic supporters excited by the rare event. It capped a two-day bus tour that also swung through Liberty County, a more rural area that Democrats captured in the 2020 vote.

While Trump has held several rallies across rural Georgia over the last decade, Democratic presidential contenders rarely leave metro Atlanta.

Local Republicans expect Trump to receive a warm reception in coastal Georgia. Though Trump lost Savannah’s Chatham County in the last two elections, Republicans make up close to 45% of the Chatham electorate, while other metro area counties, such as Bryan, Bulloch and Effingham, are overwhelmingly conservative.

“Former President Trump championed policies in his first term that were important to the growth we’ve seen here,” said House Speaker Jon Burns, who represents a southeast Georgia district. “His policies resonate with folks in this part of the state.”

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