MARIETTA, Georgia — President Trump is set to hold a campaign rally in Georgia on Wednesday, but his visit comes with growing unease among Republicans who worry that his ongoing focus on election fraud allegations could actually work against the party in one of the nation’s most hotly contested Senate races.
The visit comes after months of Trump attacking the state’s election system — a pattern that began after he lost Georgia in 2020. A Reuters review found that since January, the president has publicly questioned the state’s voting process at least nine separate times in speeches and interviews.
During a podcast appearance in June, Trump described the 2020 Georgia election as “rigged.” Shortly after, while speaking by phone at a rally supporting the state’s Republican candidate for governor, he declared: “Our elections are corrupt.”
Wednesday’s event in Marietta — a politically competitive suburb located north of Atlanta — marks Trump’s first campaign appearance since he delivered a prime-time address from the White House last week, during which he raised doubts about the security of elections across the country.
The concern among some Georgia Republicans is that Trump’s messaging could discourage his own supporters from casting ballots in November’s midterm elections, when control of Congress is up for grabs. If voters believe their votes won’t be counted accurately, they may simply stay home.
Eric Johnson, the former Republican leader of the Georgia Senate and state chair for RightCount — a conservative organization that supports state-run elections — put it bluntly: “Any conversations about election fraud hurts Republicans in Georgia.”
“President Trump’s supporters are less likely to turn out when he casts doubt on the validity on the election process,” Johnson added.
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston offered a different picture of what the rally will focus on, saying Trump plans to use the event to promote his pro-family agenda — including tax breaks and savings accounts designed to give “every American child a head start in life, a nest egg to grow up with, and a real stake in their own future.”
Still, the 2020 election — which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden — continues to dominate his political focus, especially in Georgia. Trump administration officials have opened investigations into how the state handled that vote.
Georgia Democrat Jon Ossoff, who along with fellow Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock flipped two Republican-held Senate seats in 2021 runoff elections, is now seeking reelection. His Republican challenger is U.S. Representative Mike Collins, 59, and the two have clashed over the issue of election security.
Ossoff has pushed back hard against Trump’s claims, labeling him the “world’s most famous sore loser.” A spokesperson for Ossoff’s campaign issued a statement ahead of the rally: “As prices keep climbing for families, the failed President is coming to Georgia tomorrow to surely repeat his debunked election conspiracies.”
The Ossoff campaign also predicted the visit would hurt Republicans: “Republicans dread the President reheating his personal grievances and making it even harder for them in Georgia because they know he will only mobilize voters to rebuke him in November.”
Collins, who is expected to join Trump at Wednesday’s rally, has supported the president’s calls for tighter voting requirements. In June, he told CNN that he believes Trump actually won Georgia in 2020 — a claim that has been rejected by multiple recounts conducted by the state.
In a statement, Collins said: “Election integrity is not a left or right issue, it’s a deeply American issue. Ensuring voters are eligible and, in fact, are American citizens is vital to our democracy, and something that the vast majority of Americans support.”
A Fox News poll released in July showed Ossoff leading Collins by 13 percentage points among registered voters.
Georgia law already requires voters to present identification at the polls. Following the 2020 election, the state’s Republican leadership passed additional voting restrictions, including limits on ballot drop boxes and absentee voting.
Despite those changes, Mary Clarice Hathaway, the Republican Party chair for Cobb County — where Trump’s rally is taking place — acknowledged that election security remains a “big concern” for Republican voters and has led some party members to question whether voting is even worth their time.
Her message to those voters was direct: “Everybody should show up to the polls. Sitting at home doesn’t help anybody.”
