ATLANTA, Ga. -- Though his voice was weak from a full day of campaigning, Barack Obama delivered a energetic speech in support of Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in Atlanta on Friday.
Obama was the featured speaker at a "Get out the Vote" rally along with Abrams and other Democratic candidates at Forbes Arena at Morehouse College. Other speakers included Rep. John Lewis, former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the Democratic candidate for Georgia's Sixth Congressional seat Lucy McBath Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and, of course, Abrams herself.
Abrams talked about mental health, expanding Medicare, helping grow small businesses, as well as the expansions of human rights. “As someone once said, we must be the change we wish to see," she said.
"I'm here for one simple reason, I'm here to ask you to vote," Obama said.
"This Tuesday I believe may be the most important election of our lifetime," he said. "That's saying something because some of those elections were mine."
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He took the opportunity to talk about the politics in Washington D.C., healthcare, and the ongoing controversy surrounding the U.S.- Mexico border. He also made a reference to President Donald Trump's comments about birthright citizenship. Trump said in an interview that he planned to sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of non-American citizens who are born on U.S. soil.
"If you believe in the Constitution, you have to know that no one person can decide who is an American citizen and who's not," Obama said.
The Georgia governor's race is one of the most closely-watched contests of the 2018 midterm election. If elected, Abrams would be the first African American woman governor in the United States.
"Make history here in Georgia," he said.
He paid homage to civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rep. John Lewis who stepped up to push for change.
"John Lewis didn't sit back and say, 'man I hope someday things get better,'" said Obama. "It happened because some people marched, some people organized."
"Georgia, don't be afraid," he said.
During the speech, the former president alluded to accusations of voter suppression.
"They'll try to disenfranchise people and take away their right to vote."
"Stacey's opponent has already been caught multiple times..." Obama said before the crowd cut him off by 'booing'.
"Don't boo, vote," he said. "They don't care about your boos, they care about your vote."
"Republicans keep trying to diminish Stacey's remarkable accomplishments," he said. "She's is the most experienced, most qualified candidate in this race."
When Obama ended his speech, Abrams and a few other women running in other Georgia races took the stage with the former president.
On Wednesday, thousands stood for hours in long lines to get tickets for the event. Those tickets do not guarantee admission, according to the Georgia Democratic Party.
Brian Kemp, the current Georgia secretary of state, won a contested Republican primary in July largely by embracing Donald Trump and by airing controversial TV advertisements highlighting his opposition to illegal immigration and his support for the Second Amendment.
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Trump gave his support to Kemp days before the GOP runoff and has continued to show his support for the Republican candidate.
"Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be a great governor," President Trump tweeted on Oct. 20. "He has been successful at whatever he has done, and has prepared for this very difficult and complex job for many years. He has my Strong Endorsement. His opponent is totally unqualified. Would destroy a great state!"
The president took notice of Obama's stops in Georgia and Florida.
"I heard him talk about freedom of the press, we have to maintain the press, we have to love those people," Trump said. "Except that nobody was worse to the press than Obama. Nobody. In fact he even used, as I remember, the Justice Department to go after reporters."
Polls have Abrams and Kemp virtually tied, making a December a possibility should neither candidate get more than 50 percent of the vote. Libertarian Ted Metz is also in the race.
On Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence stumped for Kemp in Georgia, while Oprah Winfrey held two town halls in support of Abrams.
