COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — On Tuesday, Georgia voters will go to the polls to cast their votes in the presidential primary.
This comes after the top spots on the Democratic and Republican ticket lines have almost been determined based on the results of previous state primaries.
WRBL spoke with leading Democratic lawmakers and Georgia Republican operatives about the rematch that is shaping up between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Georgia played a key role in the 2020 Biden-Trump election. Biden won by less than 12,000 votes.
The stakes in the Peach State are just as high this year.
On Saturday, Biden and Trump campaigned in Georgia to formalize their respective parties' nominations.
Immigration issues at the southern border are central to the campaign. And the murder of University of Georgia student Lakin Riley added a new dimension to this competition.
The man accused of Riley's murder was in this country illegally.
“Her death is not only unfortunate, it's tragic,” said Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, who was in Columbus to campaign for Biden on Sunday. “And I think this is also tragic in that the president spoke about this in his State of the Union address. You know, as a father who lost his own child, he expressed nothing but sympathy for the family.” Instead, we talked about it with real empathy. This touched him deeply personally. And what it resulted in was immigration and border policies that actually worked. I think this emphasizes the need to realize this.”
Republican strategist Brian Robinson, president of Robinson Republic Communications in Atlanta, said all you have to do is look at how President Trump campaigned.
“While Lakin Riley's death is itself a personal tragedy and we all grieve, it is also a national political flashpoint and a watershed issue in the 2024 election,” Robinson said. . “You saw President Trump take advantage of this at Saturday's Rome rally. The Lakin Riley family was there and President Biden mispronounced her name and called her Lincoln Riley. You can point out, of course, the football coach. And after that, he didn't apologize for it. President Biden apologized for calling the murder suspect illegal.”
Moore and Robinson know Georgia could play a big role in November's general election.
“And I think it's important to remember what both candidates were doing (Saturday) in understanding the importance of Georgia to this race,” Moore said. “While the president campaigned in Georgia with small business owners, minority-owned businesses, Black-owned businesses, Latinx-owned businesses, and AAPI-owned businesses, Donald Trump I was campaigning with Greene. So I think it's important that people understand that both campaigns care deeply about Georgia. And both campaigns have a lot to say about why it's so important. We’re taking a completely different approach.”
Robinson said President Trump's path to a return to the White House must include a victory in Georgia in November.
“Starting tomorrow, Georgia will begin to be even more important on the national stage,” Robinson said. “We're one of six, maybe seven swing states on the map right now. We know how most states vote. And this state is Donald Trump. It's especially important for the former president. There's really no path to the White House for him other than winning Georgia. Georgia is essential. It's really important right now for Joe Biden. There's another path for Mr. Biden. But for both candidates, Biden wins. Georgia will be part of the winning formula.”
