It is the final full day of campaigning before Election Day.
Republican Brian Kemp started the day at the DeKalb-Peachtree airport, kicking off a statewide flyaround tour that also includes sojourns in Columbus, Albany, Savannah and Augusta.
Beyond defending his office's investigation into the Democratic Party of Georgia, Kemp said he's feeling "a lot of momentum" following recent campaign appearances by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
“I’m feeling good about where we are,” the secretary of state said, refusing to entertain the idea of a Dec. 4 runoff with Democrat Stacey Abrams. Both campaigns, however, have quietly prepared for the possibility.
Kemp will end Monday back in Atlanta, where he’s scheduled to greet campaign volunteers with U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue.
“If I hadn’t done everything I could possibly do in this campaign, I’d be nervous,” Kemp said of tomorrow’s vote. “But we’ve been working extremely hard out there leaving it all on the field, and it’s up to the Lord and the voters of this state.”
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Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams began her day in Savannah at a rally at the longshoremen’s hall. She spoke about being thankful for the union support she has received across Georgia.
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Credit: Alyssa Pointer
Among those campaigning with her was Washington Gov. Jay Inslee.
After the rally, Abrams used her strongest language yet in speaking about Kemp's hacking investigation.
“Brian Kemp has lied to cover up his own failings,” she said.
She also called the investigation a “witch hunt” and said Kemp shirked his duties by ignoring warnings about flaws in the system.
After leaving Savannah, Abrams will stop in several small towns in Southeast Georgia: Richmond Hill, Rincon, Metter and Baxley.
She starts Tuesday in Albany before traveling north for several stops before her Election Night party in Atlanta.
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Kemp also got some campaign help from former Gov. Sonny Perdue on Monday. The Agriculture Secretary said Kemp will “continue the legacy Georgia’s had for a number of years of good leadership, good job growth and a great place to live.”
Perdue side-stepped his boss' comment that Abrams is "not qualified" to be governor and instead laid out what he said was a "clear contrast" between her and Kemp.
“Her values and her views and her style of government are not what Georgians are used to, not what they want in that regard,” he said of Abrams.
Perdue was also on hand for Sunday’s Trump rally in Macon.
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A man wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat weaved his blue pickup truck through the parking lot before and after Abrams’ campaign stop in Rincon.
As the crowd filed out from the rec center where the event was held, the man began blowing the horn and shouting the MAGA slogan. Brian Kemp signs and a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag were secured to the truck’s tailgate.
When Abrams’ bus pulled out of the parking lot, the man in the blue truck followed behind. The route took them past a home displaying an older version of the Georgia state flag that bears the Confederate battle emblem.
It is this version of the flag that Abrams admitted to burning in protest when she was a college student in 1992.
