AUGUSTA, Ga. — Close to 70 men from across Augusta stood together downtown on Thursday to endorse Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor, a public show of support that organizers said was meant to answer national claims that Black men will not stand behind Black women seeking office.
The gathering at Ninth Street Plaza came less than three weeks before Election Day. Organizers described it as an event about visibility and unity, and said their central message is that the group is committed to a win for Bottoms on Nov. 3.
State Sen. Harold Jones, the Democratic leader in the Georgia Senate and an Augusta lawmaker, was among the speakers. He urged the crowd to spend every remaining day on turnout, focusing on family, neighbors and coworkers who have not yet cast ballots.
Bottoms once led Atlanta as mayor and now carries the Democratic banner against Republican Rick Jackson, a health care executive, in the contest to replace Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited. Bottoms has picked up local endorsements that include the Richmond County sheriff, the county solicitor general and the Augusta district attorney.
Augusta Commissioner Jordan Johnson said the issues constituents raise with him line up with several Bottoms proposals: a trust fund for affordable housing, expanding Medicaid, rewriting the formula Georgia uses to fund schools and opening a path to free tuition at technical and community colleges.
State Rep. Karlton Howard, another Augusta Democrat, cautioned supporters against easing up because of reports of strong early turnout. Early voting continues in Richmond County through the end of the advance voting period ahead of the Nov. 3 general election.
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