MACON – The talking points from the most recent public appearances of former United States President Donald Trump and his pick for vice president J.D. Vance was top of mind in Middle Georgia on Thursday morning.
“Kamala Harris is not a DEI hire,” said longtime Georgia State Senator David Lucas (District 26) in rebuttal of many Republicans’ claims. “She is a person who understands the law. I’m willing to compare her public record to Donald Trump.”
With just 101 days until Election Day on November 3, Lucas (District 26), Georgia State Rep. Miriam Paris (District 142), Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas (District 3), alongside local union leadership Carlos Brooks, president of Boilermakers Local D23 (Warner Robins), held a press conference in support and solidarity with the presidential bid of current United States Vice President Kamala Harris at the Tubman African American Museum in downtown Macon.
“Here in the south, union workers and union work environments are winning,” explained Brooks. “We are supporting Vice President Harris’ bid because the current administration has a proven track record of making sure unions have a voice.”
Brooks added that a second Trump administration could be negative for unions across the country. Commissioner Lucas called Harris’ bid for president “the vision of America you believe in.”
“There’s only one candidate who will support our rights and freedoms and that is Vice President Harris,” she said.
All four local leaders called for solidarity amongst voters in Macon and said there will be a movement to get the more than 17,000 registered, but non-active voters in the city and county to get out to vote this November. Macon and greater Bibb County is the fourth largest city in the state with nearly 160,000 residents and over 114,000 registered voters, according to Georgia Votes.
Photo by Donnell Suggs/The Atlanta Voice
“I know you are feeling the energy and the overwhelming groundswell around Vice President Harris,” Paris said. “She is the best qualified and prepared to prosecute the case, or should that be cases, against Donald Trump.”
Paris listed the passing of gun safety legislation and the Inflation Reduction Act (in 2022) as major accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration.
“These accomplishments cannot be overlooked,” Paris said. She called this campaign and upcoming election an “all hands on deck” situation. “Kamala Harris represents the next generation of the Democratic Party. We reject Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.”
What’s Next:
The vice president has already made appearances in Milwaukee and Indianapolis with a stop planned for Houston later this week. There she will speak at the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) national convention. Texas delegates have already given their verbal support of Harris’ bid for the presidency. The support of the AFT and its thousands of members are expected to be secured by Harris.
Harris will make her first appearance in Georgia as the presumptive presidential nominee next week, according to sources close to the campaign.
