Dalton, Ga. — President Donald Trump is hitting the campaign trail in Georgia, which has long been the focus of his election fraud claims, both over his 2020 election loss and now as the state’s GOP-led election board questions its voting systems.

With early voting underway, Trump is hoping his Dalton rally, in the state’s northwest corner, will energize voters to flip a seat to the Republicans as the party fights to maintain control of the Senate.

Democrat Jon Ossoff holds a firm lead over Republican challenger Rep. Mike Collins, according to polling averages from MS NOW/FiftyPlusOne In the governor’s race to replace outgoing GOP Gov. Brian Kemp polling indicates a tight race, with Rick Jackson maintaining just a two-percentage-point edge over former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat.

Ossoff slams Collins in debate as he fends off challenge to Georgia Senate seat October 9, 2026 Early voting in the state started Tuesday, and Georgians cast more than 190,000 ballots on the first day, an increase of more than 53,000 votes from the 2022 midterm elections, breaking the state’s early voting record for an off-year election.

Last month, the Georgia State Election Board wrote a letter to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security urging intervention in the state’s voting machinery. The board, comprising a majority of Trump-aligned allies, has repeatedly called into question the veracity of Georgia’s past elections.

In a statement, the state’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger highlighted those record-breaking early voting totals as evidence voters “have confidence in the integrity of our elections.”“It’s a testament to our strong election system overseen by 159 of the best county election officials in the country,” Raffensperger said. It is not the first time Georgia’s elections have been called into question without merit.

Earlier this year, the FBI seized 2020 election ballots from the state’s most populous county as part of an inquiry into alleged fraud. After that seizure, the president claimed, without offering evidence, that the ballots were “crooked.”He continued, “Let’s see what happens, and the Democrats are fighting like hell. They don’t want anyone to see those ballots. Did you see that? Let’s see what happens. It’s a disgrace but what are you going to do? We’re cleaning it up.”The DOJ has not filed any indictments related to its investigation of voter fraud in Fulton County.

The federal and state scrutiny of Georgia’s midterm proceedings comes with two staunch Trump allies leading the GOP’s tickets in the state — Rep. Collins, its Senate nominee who has suggested he supports compensation for defendants found guilty in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and gubernatorial candidate Jackson, who compared Raffensperger to Judas for his actions defending Georgia’s 2020 results.

Amid all the attention and allegations on the state’s election systems, the president is headed to Georgia with Republicans facing significant headwinds with elevated inflation and voters’ concerns about the cost of living. Trump has told supporters his rallies are helping to turn the tide for Republicans, despite polling and national sentiment that suggest Democrats may be poised for electoral gains.

One of the key voting blocs the president is trying to retain for Republicans are Latinos who make up a large proportion of the population in Dalton, the site of his rally. With a population of 35,322, nearly 55% in the city identify as Hispanic or Latino, according to 2025 census data It is in a county that is part of the deep-red stronghold in the state, where Trump won by a 44% margin in 2024.

While Trump won record support from Latino voters in 2024, he has seen an erosion in some of that support, according to recent polls. That marks a shift Democrats are hoping to seize on this year.

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