His campaign handed out posters of slain nursing student Laken Riley, whose killing has become a rallying cry for his supporters, to attendees as they entered the Forum River Center in northwest Georgia. Her death, he said, could have been avoided.

“What Joe Biden has done on our border is a crime against humanity and the people of this nation for which he will never be forgiven,” Trump said, repeating a pledge to seal the border and oversee the largest deportation in history.

Biden set up shop at the Pullman Yards complex in east Atlanta, where he extolled the climate change and tax policies that have helped juice Georgia’s electric vehicle industry and said “freedoms are literally on the ballot.”

He welcomed the endorsements of three powerful political advocacy groups that represent voters of color that plan to spend $30 million to mobilize Biden voters. And he noted that his opponent was in the home territory of U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a far-right Trump loyalist who heckled Biden during the State of the Union.

“It can tell you a lot about a person who he keeps company with,” Biden said to applause from the crowd.

The rival rallies served as a visceral reminder of Georgia’s importance on the 2024 map. Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes four years ago, becoming the first Democrat in a generation to carry the state. Polls suggest the two are in for a tight race in November.

Democrats would love to keep Georgia in the blue column, but Republicans see capturing the state’s 16 electoral college votes as an imperative. Trump put it this way to thousands of supporters: “If we win Georgia, we win the election.”

‘Stakes could not be higher’

Even before Trump took the stage at his rally, Riley’s killing was front and center. U.S. Reps. Mike Collins and Greene each reminded the audience that the man charged with her murder was a Venezuela native who authorities say entered the U.S. illegally in 2022.

And Trump met with Riley’s parents and friends before he gave his speech. At one point, he addressed the slain student’s relatives, who were seated in the front row: “I promise you I will demand justice for Laken.”

Unlike his State of the Union address, where Biden acknowledged Riley’s death after he was heckled by Greene, he didn’t reference the death. Instead, he noted that he backed a comprehensive immigration measure that he said would secure the U.S. border and provide a path to citizenship some young immigrants.

“Instead of celebrating the contributions of immigrants to our country, our economy and our communities, Donald Trump calls them vermin, poison in the blood of America,” Biden said. “Nobody should ever doubt where my heart is.”

The rival candidates also provided a showcase for Georgia leaders and up-and-coming politicians. At Trump’s Rome rally, old-time GOP politicos shared time on the stage with a new generation of MAGA adherents.

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue made one of his first political appearances since his Trump-backed challenge to Gov. Brian Kemp ended in a humbling defeat, while political newcomer Brian Jack touted his bid for an open U.S. House seat.

Just as notable were those who didn’t attend the rally. Kemp, Insurance Commissioner John King, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr all skipped the event. The four each prevailed over Trump-backed opponents in 2022.

In Atlanta, U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock — whose 2021 upset victories flipped control of the Senate — each urged young, diverse voters to contemplate the urgency of the moment.

If Georgia hadn’t flipped, Ossoff said, there would be “no Ketanji Brown Jackson,” whom Biden nominated as the nation’s first Black female Supreme Court justice. There would also be no infrastructure bill, no student loan relief nor any of the other Democratic priorities Biden delivered from the White House, he added.

“The president understands that once again, Georgia will determine the fate of the republic,” Ossoff said, “and the stakes could not be higher.”

Warnock added: “The president is in the right place because we know that the road to the White House goes through Georgia.”

Polls show voters fret about a rematch between the candidates, but supporters of each say they’re confident enthusiasm will spike as November nears.

Donnie Canada, an Aragon councilman, said Trump’s focus on “the economy, the border and crime” will boost the GOP vote.

Jan Hackney, meanwhile, awaited Biden’s visit with a shirt stating: “Regulate Guns, Not Women.”

“Everyone’s worried about Georgia, but I think we’re going to take Georgia again,” she said. “We did it four years ago, and gosh we’re going to do it again.”

Staff writers Michelle Baruchman, Patricia Murphy and David Wickert contributed to this article.