‘We have 68 days to go’: VP Kamala Harris solo rally in Savannah brings large crowd out in rain

SAVANNAH – A day after United States Vice President Kamala Harris and her presidential running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, took their first Southeast Georgia bus tour through Chatham and Liberty counties, she was back in Savannah for a scheduled rally inside EnMarket Arena on Thursday, Aug. 29. Despite rainy conditions the rally was well-attended.

There were a couple of small pro-Palestine protests that took place during Harris’ time on stage. Having gotten used to those taking place during her rallies, Harris didn’t miss a beat. “We are fighting for democracy and everyone has the right to speak, but I am speaking now, Harris said.

During her speech Harris spoke about the dangers of a Project 2025 agenda, making child care, health care, and the cost of living more affordable. She did not deliver an exact plan on how she and Walz would do it if they get elected in November however.

Harris said, if elected she will create an “opportunity economy” where home ownership, for example, would be more achievable.

“It’s just not about getting by, it’s about getting ahead,” she said.

The line has been often repeated by Harris on the campaign trail and was repeated by multiple speakers during the hour-and-a-half long rally.

Something that has also been a common tag of the Harris-Walz ticket is letting the large crowds at the rallies that they are the underdogs and that this is going to be a tight race. “With your help we are going to win this November,” she said.

Harris/Walz South Georgia regional organizer Antionette Ross, a native of Savannah, spoke first on Thursday afternoon. “This is our opportunity to fight for our country,” Ross said of voting.

Before Harris took the stage, Harris-Walz South Georgia campaign manager Antionette Ross spoke about why she began working with the campaign. She told the crowd that when former United States President Donald J. Trump was elected to the presidency in 2016, “I learned that we cannot assume whatever progress we make, we can keep.”

“The road to the White House runs through Atlanta, it runs through Savannah, it runs through all of us,” Ross said.

Current Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, former Savannah Mayor and current Georgia State Rep. (District 165) Edna Jackson and State Senator Derrick Mallow (Senate District 2), the latter two being native Savvananians and all three are graduates of Savannah State University, spoke about needing to show up at the polls the way they showed up in big numbers at the rally on Thursday.

This rally, similar to the visit to Sandfly BBQ on Wednesday, are expertly coordinated efforts to speak with and directly to voters in Savannah and Chatham County. “For the next 68 days we need to show up and fight, and on Election Day we need you to show up to the polls,” Mallow said.

“I know, I know, I know that Savannah and Coastal Georgia will deliver for her in November,” Johnson said. “Savannah has benefited tremendously from the investments during the Biden-Harris administration.”

Johnson added that Harris cares about building up the middle class and Trump does not. “He will cut housing protections for Black and brown people, just like he makes his billions off the backs of hard-working Black and brown Americans,” he said. “Beloved, we cannot afford to lose all of our progress.”

Georgia State Rep. Long Tran (District 80), who attended the rally, but was not one of the scheduled speakers, told The Atlanta Voice he wanted to hear Harris take full advantage of the capacity crowd inside EnMarket Arena and speak directly to the people of Southeast Georgia and their immediate needs.

“I see Savannah as being a corridor that’s very different to Atlanta,” Tran said. “I want to see her deliver a message to these folks.”

Tran also mentioned housing costs as an issue constituents he has talked to consider important. The number of apartments in Atlanta, for example, are going up, but the rents are not plateauing. Supply is meeting demand, so what gives, Tran asked rhetorically.

“How do we address this without being heavy-handed,” he said.

Democratic Party Chair and Congresswoman Nikema Williams also spoke during the rally. During her speech she asked the crowd if they want “division and anger or joy?”

“This is battleground Georgia, where every vote counts.”

Notes from the Road:

1-Savannah is a perfect city for a rally or convention and I am very happy the NNPA convention will be in town in 2025.

2-EnMarket Arena is a fine venue, but the lack of adequate parking spaces makes it a non-contender for anymore political rallies of this size. The Savannah Civic Center, though older, would have been a better venue for the rally on Thursday.

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