Oprah Winfrey doesn’t campaign for just anyone, but today she rallied for Georgia’s Democratic Gubernatorial candidate, Stacey Abrams. Winfrey said Stacey Abrams didn’t ask her to come, but three days ago she just decided she “wanted to come to Georgia and lend my support.” It’s hard to rival Donald Trump’s following, but Winfrey has more than 42 million followers. Her name carries weight and she wanted her voice to be heard today in Marietta, Georgia:
“I have voted Republican and I have voted Democrat. Each time I have voted, I voted for the people who I felt represented my values. so Stacey Abrams’ values are in alignment with the consciousness of which our democracy has been founded. the very foundation of our democracy is to think about other people. To live our life in service. Democracy is not just about our individual rights and concerns. And our individual protections, but rather it lives and thrives in making sure that everybody is lifted by the community. This is not just what I want or what I need or what’s going to fill my pocket book, but recognizing that what is good for everybody is good for us.”
Winfrey also made reference to the voter suppression that Abrams competitor Brian Kemp, Georgia’s current Secretary of State is accused of:
“We see injustices big and small all around us, every single day of our lives. And I know it’s easy for a lot of people to feel that you have no power against those injustices, but this is what I’m here to tell you. This land was made for you and me. This land was made for you and me. That’s not just a song, that’s the truth. I will tell you that we are not powerless. Every single one of us has the same power at the polls. Every single one of us has something that, if done in numbers too big to tamper with, cannot be suppressed and cannot be denied.”
And for those that have questions about whether this was an early campaign speech for Winfrey, she wants to put that to rest:
“I want to make it very clear to all the press. Everybody. I’m not here because I’m making a grandstand and I’m thinking about running myself. I don’t want to run, okay? I don’t want to test any waters. I don’t want to go in those waters. I’m here because of Stacey Abrams. I‘m here today, I’m here for the men who were lynched and humiliated and discriminated against and suppress and repressed and oppressed for the right for the equality at the polls.”
Meanwhile further north in the state. Vice President Mike Pence mocked Winfrey as he campaigned for Kemp in Dalton, Georgia.
“I heard Oprah was in town today. And I heard Will Ferrell was going door-to-door the other day. Well I’d like to remind Stacey and Oprah and Will Ferrell — I’m kind of a big deal, too,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a campaign event for gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp pic.twitter.com/74AsupqST8
— POLITICO (@politico) November 1, 2018