Former President Barack Obama spoke at a rally with former Sen. Jon Ossoff and Democratic candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms in south Atlanta on Oct. 28, 2026. The event took place in Morrow, which is south of Atlanta, and featured other Democratic candidates running for statewide office, including state Rep. Tanya Miller, Penny Brown Reynolds, and state Sen. Josh McLaurin.
Already, 2.2 million Georgians had cast a ballot as of Wednesday, with just two more days to vote early. Election Day is Tuesday. At the rally, Obama criticized President Donald Trump, describing the previous “two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence” under the Trump administration and Republicans. He said that voters are “so ready for something new” and that “it feels like change is in the air.” “I don’t have to tell you how tough things are out there. You’re living it,” Obama said.
Obama argued that many voters who helped get Trump elected in 2024 were frustrated with post-pandemic inflation and thought that he might turn things around, but instead, Obama said that prices have continued to go up because of Trump policies. He pointed to Trump’s tariffs that have destabilized long-standing trade agreements and the war in Iran that he described as “an unnecessary war that nobody asked for and nobody voted for.” “These are not serious people, and we’re all paying a price for their lack of seriousness,” Obama said.
Obama ended his speech on a positive and optimistic note, saying that “this election can be a start” of change. Democrats are feeling bullish about their chances of seeing a “blue wave” in a year that Republicans are struggling to hold on to seats that would normally be considered safe for Republicans. Obama has been traveling the country targeting a few races that are considered competitive and could be a toss-up, holding rallies in Michigan and Ohio.
Ossoff, who is the only Democratic senator running for reelection in a state Trump won in 2024, was initially seen as a top target for Republicans. But Ossoff has maintained a lead in polls against Republican Congressman Mike Collins. In the governor’s race, polling averages show that Bottoms is deadlocked with billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson. Ossoff used the moment to try to boost Bottoms and other Democrats on the ballot.
“Georgia, with just six days to go, I’m here to tell you I have no doubt our victory is near at hand,” Ossoff said. “In six days, our juggernaut coordinated campaign will have turned out the vote like never before to elect Josh McLaurin, Penny Brown Reynolds, Tanya Miller and Democrats up and down the ballot. In six days, we’ll elect a Medicaid-expanding governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms. “And in six days, Georgia, we’ll rebuke the crook President Donald Trump with such clarity and power that no president will ever dare such abuses”
