Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, heads to the battleground in Georgia on Thursday to participate in a star-studded rally that includes rock legend Bruce Springsteen, artist Tyler Perry and former President Barack Obama.
It is the latest attempt by the Harris campaign to leverage the support of movie and music stars to rally voters in the final days of a close race against Republican rival Donald Trump.
Harris’ stormy campaign began with a big jump in the polls after President Joe Biden withdrew from the race in late July, but her lead shrank in national opinion polls and evaporated in the states that will decide the US elections.
Celebrity endorsers add cultural cachet to candidates, often helping campaigns raise money, attract crowds to campaign rallies, and generate excitement on social media. For the Harris and Trump campaigns, they are part of a blitz to mobilize voters before Election Day on November 5.
It will also be the first time Harris and Obama will campaign together. Harris is also scheduled to appear with Michelle Obama on Saturday in Michigan, one of seven swing states expected to decide the winner on November 5.
The latest polls in Georgia show a slight lead for Trump, but Harris campaign officials say they remain confident that the state, along with neighboring North Carolina, is still in the running come November. President Joe Biden won an upset victory in Georgia in 2020, and Democrats narrowly won two Senate seats there, giving them control of both chambers of Congress during the first half of Biden’s term.
About 1.9 million residents have already cast ballots in Georgia, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Springsteen, 75, will appear on Monday in Philadelphia with Obama, and the Harris campaign indicated that more concerts with other musicians will be announced soon.
In 2016, Springsteen played three songs at a rally in front of 20,000 people at Independence Hall in Philadelphia for Democratic Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign on the eve of the election. In 2008, Springsteen played a seven-song set to tens of thousands on the city’s Benjamin Franklin Parkway to urge people to register and vote for Obama.
Taylor Swift, Pink, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Lizzo and many other celebrities endorsed Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. Swift’s endorsement of Harris via an Instagram post in September of this year received more than 11 million likes.
Trump’s supporters from the entertainment world include musicians Ted Nugent, Kid Rock and Jason Aldean, wrestler Hulk Hogan, who spoke at the Republican National Convention this summer, Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White, actor Dennis Quaid, and TV star Amber Rose.