Republican front-runner Donald Trump heads to Macon on Monday for an evening campaign rally that is expected to attract thousands of supporters -- and a feisty protest outside featuring the city's former mayor.
It's the bombastic billionaire's second visit to Georgia - his first was a Norcross rally last month that drew 7,700 - and it comes as he attempts to build an SEC primary following with visits to Alabama, Tennessee and Texas ahead of the March 1 vote.
Anti-Trump forces are rallying as well at the 7:30 p.m. rally at the Macon Coliseum. Jack Ellis told the Macon Telegraph he'll be organizing a "loud and peaceful" protest in front of the coliseum as Trump supporters gather inside.
The journey to Macon comes about three months before Georgia and a slew of other states vote in the March 1 primary. We have a bigger story on how the SEC primary is reshaping campaign strategies in today's dead-tree version.
They are not the only ones. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, dominates the scene in his home state, which has the largest trove of delegates on March 1, while building a formidable list of grass-roots backers elsewhere in the region.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has seen his support grow in recent weeks. And former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose campaign has struggled for traction, still has regional ties and the money to hang in through March 1.
On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has the political establishment locked down throughout the South. But Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, who held a rally in Atlanta last week, is not ceding the territory as he corrals energy from the activist left and aims to crack Clinton's strong African-American support.
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