Vice President Mike Pence will headline a conservative religious conference in Atlanta on Wednesday as Republicans intensify their efforts to carry Georgia in November.
The vice president arrived in Atlanta around noon and then headed to a Republican fundraiser at the St. Regis Hotel in Buckhead. He’s set to trek next to the Cobb Galleria Centre to speak at the Faith & Freedom Coalition Policy Conference before departing from Dobbins Air Reserve Base around 4:15 p.m.
His visit comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s campaign stop in Atlanta on Friday to court Black voters – and polls that show the state has become increasingly competitive.
Air Force Two has landed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, and @VP Mike Pence is soon headed to a fundraiser and then a speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition before departing around 4. #gapol pic.twitter.com/JuGxb22ESd
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) September 30, 2020
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released this month showed Trump and Joe Biden knotted up at 47% apiece, and Republicans are on the defensive in a state they’ve carried in every White House race since 1996. Three surveys published since then echo those tight dynamics.
Trump’s campaign has responded by sending a string of top surrogates to Georgia. Over the last three weeks, three of Trump’s children and several Cabinet officials have stumped in the state. And Trump drew hundreds of Black supporters to the Galleria on Friday for his rally.
With Pence’s appearance, Trump’s campaign is hoping to shore up support with a linchpin of his re-election campaign. After religious voters helped Trump narrowly defeat Hillary Clinton in 2016, there are signs that support has dipped this election.
An August survey by Fox News showed Biden hovering at 28% support among white evangelicals - that’s an improvement of 12 percentage points from Clinton’s performance in 2016 exit polls.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition has become one of the nation’s most influential evangelical advocacy groups since it was founded by Georgia GOP activist Ralph Reed in 2009, and Trump has spoken at several of the group’s events.
Aside from Pence, this year’s agenda includes U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler; Gov. Brian Kemp; anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist; and local pastor Benny Tate.
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