Gwen Walz campaigns in Macon; Trump, Vance, Jill Biden plan visits ahead of election

With the Nov. 5 election just days away, both presidential campaigns have honed in on Macon as an important campaign stop.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance are both planning trips to Bibb County. Trump will hold a rally Sunday evening at the Atrium Health Amphitheater, although specific details have not been announced. Vance is slated to visit Macon Monday.

First lady Jill Biden is planning a visit to Macon Saturday afternoon, but details have not yet been released.

Gwen Walz, wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, was in Macon Thursday. She spoke with supporters at the Democratic Party headquarters on Georgia Avenue and knocked doors in Pleasant Hill as part of a local canvassing effort. Walz was introduced by State Rep. Miriam Paris.

“Kamala and Tim have both spent their entire careers fighting for middle class families like the ones they grew up in. Their upbringings taught them the value of a hard day’s work, how to balance a budget, and to always lend a neighbor a helping hand,” Walz said. “Those are the values they’ll bring to the White House. They have real plans: to give you a tax cut, to lower the cost of groceries and health care, to help you buy a home.”

Why Macon?

Early voting numbers — while strong across the state and particularly in and around Atlanta — have lagged in Georgia south of the Fall Line, and Macon serves as a regional hub, complete with an airpot, access to major highways and large venues.

While the majority of Macon-Bibb County has historically voted for Democratic presidential candidates — both Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden won Bibb County in recent elections — surrounding counties usually lean heavily Republican.

This map from Georgia Public Broadcasting’s Grant Blankenship provides a useful visualization of early voting numbers.