With a rally in Georgia, Harris puts new focus on a battleground state

Vice President and presumptive presidential nominee Kamala Harris rallied supporters in Atlanta on Tuesday, bringing the message and energy of a renewed Democratic presidential campaign to the battleground state of Georgia.

More than 10,000 attended a packed Georgia State arena to hear Harris address a familiar slate of issues: immigration, the economy and civil rights.

She invoked her experience as a prosecutor.

"I know Donald Trump's type," she said. "I have been dealing with people like him my entire career."

She pointed out that she has prosecuted fraud and sexual abuse — crimes that Trump has recently been found liable for or convicted of .

She highlighted her experience prosecuting drug trafficking operations in a border state, and contrasted it to Trump's history of allegedly scuttling a bipartisan border security bill.

"Donald Trump does not care about border security," Harris said. "He only cares about himself."

Harris pledged to resurrect the border security bill and sign it into law if elected president.

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Harris also sought to give families a break from a high cost of living. Prices were still too high, she said, despite cooling inflation.

"Building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency," she said, promising to attack hidden fees, rent increases and prescription drug costs.

Harris pledged to pass new protections for voting rights and reproductive freedoms and promised to tackle continued gun violence.

And Harris called on Trump to recommit to a debate before the election.

"As the saying goes — if you've got something to say, say it to my face," she said.

Georgia in play

Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon recently said the campaign's strategy would focus on winning Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania — but she also said Georgia represented an opportunity to reach new voters, particularly those who were "disproportionately Black, Latino and under 30."

In the 2020 election, Joe Biden eked out a victory in Georgia by less than half a percentage point. Trump and 18 co-defendants have been indicted by a Fulton County grand jury for attempting to overturn the results.

Trump said he planned to hold a rally in the same arena on Saturday.