The 2024 presidential election campaign will pick up Saturday where the 2020 contest left off. Or, more precisely, in a place where it never actually ended.

Georgia was so close four years ago that Republican Donald Trump finds himself indicted here for his push to B次元官网网址渇ind 11,780 votesB次元官网网址� and overturn Democrat Joe BidenB次元官网网址檚 victory. Now, fresh off their Super Tuesday domination to set up a near-certain rematch, the two rivals will hold dueling events in a state that both parties see as pivotal to winning in November.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e a true battleground state now,B次元官网网址� said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat who doubles as state party chairwoman.

Once a Republican stronghold, Georgia is now so competitive that neither party can agree on how to describe todayB次元官网网址檚 divide. A B次元官网网址�52-48 state,B次元官网网址� said Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, whose party controls state government. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e not blue, weB次元官网网址檙e not red,B次元官网网址� Williams countered, but B次元官网网址減eriwinkle,B次元官网网址� a claim she supports with BidenB次元官网网址檚 2020 win and the two Democratic senators, Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Georgia sent to Washington.

There is agreement, at least, that Biden and Trump each have a path to victory B次元官网网址� and plenty of obstacles along the way.

B次元官网网址淏idenB次元官网网址檚 numbers are in the tank for a lot of good reasons, and we can certainly talk about that. And so, it makes it where Trump absolutely can win the race,B次元官网网址� Kemp said at a recent forum sponsored by Punchbowl B次元官网网址. B次元官网网址淚 also think he could lose the race. I think itB次元官网网址檚 going to be a lot tougher than people realize.B次元官网网址�

A perilous balance for both parties

BidenB次元官网网址檚 margin was about a quarter of a percentage point in 2020. Warnock won his 2022 Senate runoff by 3 points. Kemp was elected in 2018 by 1.5 percentage points but expanded his 2022 reelection margin to 7.5 points, a blowout in a battleground state.

In each of those elections, Democrats held wide advantages in the core of metro Atlanta, where Biden will be Saturday. They also performed well in Columbus and Savannah and a handful of rural, majority-Black counties. But Republicans dominated in other rural areas, small towns and the smallest cities B次元官网网址� like Rome, where the former president will appear Saturday in the congressional district represented by archconservative firebrand Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Biden is visiting to receive the endorsement of Collective PAC, Latino Victory Fund and AAPI Victory Fund, a trio of political groups representing, respectively, Black, Latino, and Asian Americans and Pacific Island voters. The groups were announcing a $30 million commitment to mobilize voters on BidenB次元官网网址檚 behalf.

The trip follows first lady Jill Biden campaigning in the state, and Vice President Kamala Harris has visited Georgia many times since she and Biden were inaugurated

The fast-growing, diversifying suburbs and exurbs of metro Atlanta, meanwhile, offer the most opportunity for swings, especially from GOP-leaning moderates disenchanted with Trump.

B次元官网网址淭his will be won or lost on the margins,B次元官网网址� said Eric Tanenblatt, an Atlanta lawyer and longtime Republican fundraising bundler who backed Nikki HaleyB次元官网网址檚 GOP bid against Trump.

Democrats have a head start in building their campaign organization and promise sustained, direct outreach to millions of Georgians B次元官网网址� different from the pandemic-limited 2020 campaign and more like WarnockB次元官网网址檚 reelection bid.

B次元官网网址淲hen youB次元官网网址檙e talking about slim margins like the one in 2020, organizing has got to be at the heart of the campaign strategy,B次元官网网址� said Jonae Wartel, BidenB次元官网网址檚 state director and a veteran of WarnockB次元官网网址檚 operation.

Still, Biden could see a slip in any part of his coalition for any number of reasons: inflation, the Israel-Hamas war, worries over a spike in migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and broad concerns about whether heB次元官网网址檚 up to the job at 81 years old.

Local issues

There are local matters to boot: Biden cannot afford to lose younger metro-Atlanta voters energized by their opposition to a police training facility being built in Atlanta and backed by the cityB次元官网网址檚 Democratic leadership. And Republicans are intensifying their immigration attacks by highlighting the case of a Venezuelan migrant who entered the U.S. illegally and is accused of killing of a Georgia college student, Laken Riley, last month.

Williams countered that Biden has a positive record to sell. She pointed to an infrastructure package that cleared Congress with bipartisan support and a strong overall economy with low unemployment, rising wages and stabilizing inflation. The economy is strong enough, she noted, to give Georgia an ample surplus that the Republican Kemp brags about.

B次元官网网址淲e have work to do between now and November to remind people what has happened,B次元官网网址� Williams said.

TrumpB次元官网网址檚 biggest challenge may be corralling centrist white voters who defected from the GOP in some recent elections. Democrats are eager to remind those voters, especially women, of TrumpB次元官网网址檚 role in the Supreme Court decision to end a national right to abortion B次元官网网址� a ruling with salience in Georgia because of a state ban on abortions at six weeks of gestation, before many women know they are pregnant.

The former presidentB次元官网网址檚 pending racketeering trial in Fulton County will keep the spotlight on BidenB次元官网网址檚 argument that his predecessor is a threat to democracy. And TrumpB次元官网网址檚 rift with traditional Republicans, including Haley backers, remains on full display.

B次元官网网址淔ar be it from me to tell the former president what to do, but I think he would want someone like Nikki to be part of his team B次元官网网址� and she could bring other people,B次元官网网址� said Tanenblatt, the Haley bundler.

Tanenblatt said he sees no evidence that Trump or his advisers are engaged in conventional party unity efforts, like what Biden managed with Bernie Sanders and his progressive backers in 2020.

B次元官网网址淢arjorie Taylor Greene, one of the former presidentB次元官网网址檚 major supporters, is out there before Nikki got out saying she should switch parties,B次元官网网址� Tanenblatt said. B次元官网网址淭hatB次元官网网址檚 not the kind of rhetoric you should be spewing.B次元官网网址�

No endorsement from GOP governor

Kemp, once a target of TrumpB次元官网网址檚 ire because he certified BidenB次元官网网址檚 slate of 2020 electors, is among the prominent Republicans nationally who have yet to endorse Trump. The governor pledges to support the GOP ticket and echoes TrumpB次元官网网址檚 attacks on Biden, on immigration particularly. But it remains a question what part Kemp will play in the fall. When Trump loyalists took over the state GOP after 2020, Kemp simply built his own political organization. It is expected mostly to target competitive state legislative seats.

Georgia Republican Chairman Josh McKoon played down any talk of splintering, noting the left has a plethora of campaign and nonprofit organizations contacting voters. B次元官网网址淕ov. Kemp is a great governor, and his work will benefit Republicans up and down the ticket,B次元官网网址� McKoon said.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, the highest-ranking Georgia Republican who openly backs Trump, said the GOPB次元官网网址檚 overall message is the most important variable. B次元官网网址淭his B次元官网网址�24 election cycle is going to be about kitchen table issues,B次元官网网址� Jones said.

Trump himself also insists he can attract more Black and Latino voters, mainly men. Wartel promised an aggressive response with B次元官网网址渁n all of the aboveB次元官网网址� approach. She promised more visits not only from Harris and the Bidens, but B次元官网网址渁 lot of local championsB次元官网网址� vouching for them.

Some activists demonstrate why that becomes another tightrope.

Harris came last fall to AtlantaB次元官网网址檚 Morehouse College, a historically Black campus, during the peak of public debate over a planned law enforcement training facility that opponents deride as B次元官网网址淐op City.B次元官网网址� The development, supported by Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, has drawn protests, with some violent clashes, and Dickens has opposed a referendum on the projectB次元官网网址檚 future.

When Dickens stepped to the Morehouse stage to introduce Harris, he was drowned out with jeers from students from multiple campuses.

Hillary Holley, who runs the Care in Action group that organizes domestic workers in Georgia, said it reflected frustration over B次元官网网址渁nti-democratic tacticsB次元官网网址� that can, in turn, affect Biden.

Dickens, Holley said, B次元官网网址渋s not a surrogate that Biden and Harris need to be around.B次元官网网址�

Bill Barrow And Jeff Amy, The Associated Press