Biden and Trump Strive to Strengthen Coalitions in Battleground Georgia

The headwinds facing President Joe Biden’s reelection bid are as evident in Georgia as in any battleground state. Equally apparent are the challenges Donald Trump faces in leveraging these headwinds.

The president and his predecessor are set to face off in a historic CNN debate Thursday night in Atlanta — the first for either man since the 2020 election. This debate is taking place in one of the nation’s most competitive swing states and is a notable example of a Republican electorate that did not fully support Trump as he sought to penalize those who did not endorse his false claims of widespread election fraud.

“President Trump still has to earn these Republican voters,” said Kelvin King, a prominent Black supporter of Trump in Georgia during the 2016 and 2020 elections. “He can win, but he’s got to earn it.”

King, who engaged with Republicans across Georgia’s 159 counties during an unsuccessful bid for the US Senate in 2022, emphasized that Trump should focus more on presenting his future plans rather than revisiting past controversies. Georgia is among the battlegrounds Trump is aiming to reclaim, alongside Arizona, while also targeting Nevada, which he lost twice. Biden could lose all three and still secure reelection if he maintains the “blue wall” of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, as well as a single electoral vote in Nebraska.

To keep all pathways open, Democrats are heavily investing in Georgia. Over a dozen campaign offices have opened in the state, including one recently inaugurated by Vice President Kamala Harris.

“Through this office right here, we will gather, we will organize, we will build community, we will build a coalition,” Harris said. “There is power in the collective and in our unity.”

The challenge of maintaining this coalition is one of the most pressing issues facing the Biden campaign.