ATLANTA – Former First Lady Michelle Obama ended a “Celebrate Georgia!” show drive-in on Sunday, delivering a vehement video appeal to help Democrats regain control of the US Senate by winning two run-off elections on January 5.
“There are a lot of people counting on you to stay out of this election,” said Obama, as more than 150 cars honked their horns as she lit five screens in the parking lot of the Cellairis Amphitheater. “But if you take control of your power, you and the people in your community can determine the direction of this state and this country.”
“Thousands of people from Savannah to Augusta and Atlanta have already voted,” she added. “We are counting on you to talk to your friends and family to make a plan on election day.”
Other notable live guests at the event included musical artists Monica, Rick Ross and Jeezy, all of whom performed. Rapper Common, actress Tracee Elliss Ross and professional basketball player Chris Paul were among those who appeared on video.
The event was co-sponsored by Obama, When We All Vote, a non-profit organization launched to increase voter participation, and The New Georgia Project, a progressive grassroots group that seeks to register Georgians to vote.
“I know we can count on you because you are a leader in voter participation,” said Obama. “When we all vote, we guarantee that we are the ones who shape our future.”
With early voting closed on Thursday, more than 3 million Georgians have already voted in the Senate’s second round, according to state election data. These types of out-of-cycle disputes typically attract far less turnout than high-profile presidential disputes, but these two disputes have attracted national attention.
Republicans currently hold the majority of seats in the 50-48 Senate, meaning that Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock would need to win to give Vice President-elect Kamala Harris a tiebreaker in a dead-end chamber. If either loses, Republicans will retain control of the Senate and the ability to block Democratic initiatives and overturn nominations for President-elect Joe Biden’s office.
Georgia became a Democrat in the presidential election by about 12,000 votes, becoming the state for the first time since 1992, but critics question whether it is really becoming more progressive. Two days before the runoff runs, President Trump continues to emerge. On Saturday, he was registered on a phone call threatening Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, with the possibility of criminal charges if he didn’t “find 11,780 votes” to overturn the final result in the state.
The second round will show whether Georgia has become more friendly to Democrats when Trump is not directly on the ballot.
“We are America’s new decisive state,” said Nsé Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, at Sunday’s event. “Our vote is a tool to protect us.”
Patricia Carr, who attended Sunday’s event, never thought her vote would matter before this year.
“Now that the state is turning blue, I know my vote is important,” Carr, 49, told Yahoo News. “I am very confident that Warnock and Ossoff will win on Tuesday.”
Nazar Turner brought his teenage daughter to the event to enjoy the artists, but also to emphasize the importance of voting.
“I vote because my people couldn’t vote and died for it,” Turner, 42, told Yahoo News. “Women couldn’t vote for 50 years.”
Turner added that hearing Obama speak meant everything.
“She was our first black first lady,” she said. “Your speech to my son is gaining importance in our lineage. She knows that when she is 18, she will have to vote ”.
Below are important dates for Georgians to remember before the state Senate election on January 5, 2021
(Cover photo by Elijah Nouvelage via Getty Images)
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