Kamala Harris, Tim Walz begin campaign bus tour through Georgia

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Vice President Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz began a bus tour through the battleground state of Georgia on Wednesday, starting in Savannah, as they try to keep the state in the Democratic column.

Georgia, reliably a Republican stronghold with the GOP owning all the statewide elected offices, flipped to the Democrats in the presidential election under Joe Biden . Harris will do a solo rally on Thursday while sitting down, alongside Walz, for her first media interview with Atlanta-based CNN.

"I think we can put Georgia in the Harris-Walz column," said Sen. Raphael Warnock , D-Ga., according to NBC News. "I'm not going to pretend that that will be an easy thing to do. But can we do it? I absolutely believe that we can win."

Warnock was ushered into the Senate with Jon Ossoff in 2020 on Biden's coattails. Warnock followed that with a win in 2022 for a full six-year term in the Senate without the benefit of a presidential campaign.

Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes and former President Donald Trump was indicted along with more than a dozen other defendants for attempting to sway the results in his favor. That case was placed on hold in June until appeal to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fanni Willis from the case is settled.

Harris' campaign said last week, in announcing the bus tour , that campaigning in Georgia "is critical as it represents a diverse coalition of voters, including rural, suburban and urban Georgians -- with a large population of Black voters and working class families."

She held a rally in Atlanta last month that saw a crowd of more than 10,000 people with appearances by rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo.

"I am very clear: The path to the White House runs right through this state," Harris told an Atlanta crowd last month during a rally. "You all helped us win in 2020, and we're going to do it again in 2024."

The Georgia bus tour is expected to see Harris and Walz appear before smaller groups, similar to a tour they embarked on through Pennsylvania earlier this month.