The arena erupted when Barack Obama took the stage at The Gateway Center in College Park, with several attendees chanting the former president’s campaign slogan, “Yes we can!”

Obama said he understood that Georgians might be tired after two years of a pandemic and what feels like endless political campaigning since 2020.

“I understand why it might be tempting sometimes just to tune out, to watch football or ‘Dancing With the Stars,’” he said. “But i’m here to tell you that tuning out is not an option. Despair is not an option. The only way to make this economy fair is if we, all of us, fight for it.”

Former President Barack Obama campaigns for gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, and other Democrats at a voting rally in Atlanta on Oct. 28, 2022. (Arvin Temkar / arvin.temkar@ajc.com)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

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Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com