Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms delivers an address in the Georgia Theater during a joint rally held with incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, on Sept. 13. The event garnered more than 1,400 attendees, including Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz, according to a press release delivered by the Ossoff campaign. “(The rally) was a rousing experience. No matter how much you intellectually know that Keisha Lance Bottoms will be the best governor on the ballot, and Jon Ossoff is going to be a fantastic senator for his next term, it’s good to feel the emotional lift of being in the room with people who all are like-minded,” Girtz said. Photo by Grady Dunston
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms, who are running for re-election to the U.S. Senate and Georgia governor, respectively, hosted a joint rally on Sept. 13in the Georgia Theater.
More than 1,400 Athenians filed into the Georgia Theater, located at 215 N. Lumpkin St., starting at 3 p.m. to attend a rally for Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee and former Atlanta Mayor, who are running for a Senate seat and the governor’s office, respectively, with ballots closing on Nov. 3.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, addresses a crowd at a joint rally held for Ossoff and Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, on Sept. 13 at the Georgia Theater, located on 215 N. Lumpkin St.. During his speech, Ossoff enumerated achievements of the United States, such as winning World War II and extending voting rights, contrasting these triumphs with current political discord and dysfunction. “(The U.S.) did great things, but then succumbed to a small and self-serving politics, unmoored from fixed moral principles, incapable of (inspiring) a great national achievement, with no real horizon beyond the next election, and they’d see that what’s required of us now is far, far greater than what that small, self-serving politics can muster,” Ossoff said. Photo by Grady Dunston
The event featured six speakers, beginning with OBGYN Dr. Lara Hart and Dexter Weaver, the former owner of Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods. Following these individuals, University of Georgia Young Democrats president Élise Wade introduced Bottoms. After Bottoms’ address, UGA Young Democrat Ella Colker introduced Ossoff.
The first candidate to speak was Bottoms, who previously served as the 60th mayor of Atlanta beginning in 2018 and later worked for the Biden Administration as a senior adviser after her mayoral term ended in 2022. During the rally, Bottoms emphasized how her personal experiences have shaped her leadership and vision for Georgia.
“I grew up watching my mother work during the day, attending cosmetology school at night in hopes of owning a hair salon,” Bottoms said during the rally. “For our family, that sometimes meant going without gas in the car and groceries at the checkout line. Georgians deserve someone who understands the challenges they’re facing, who is truly invested in making sure that every Georgian has a chance to thrive.”
During his speech, Weaver, a long-time Athens resident, delivered his perspective as a small business owner, having owned Weaver D’s Delicious Fine Foods for nearly four decades before its closure in February.
An attendant of the rally held for Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, and Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms takes a video of the event, which was held on Sept. 13 at the Georgia Theater, located on 215 N. Lumpkin St.. The event was held ahead of Election Day, which will take place on Nov. 3, with early voting set to open on Oct. 13. The event was attended by over 1,400 people, including Clarke Central High School class of 2018 alumna Karla Dougan. “Hearing Bottoms and Ossoff speak was amazing,” Dougan said. “It felt safe to be excited about the future, like I didn’t need to learn to live with the current state of our politics. I felt excited.” Photo by Grady Dunston
“I have a restaurant pop-up and feel the financial strain now even more than ever. (President Donald) Trump’s tariffs (and) harmful policies have made everything more expensive. (Rep.) Mike Collins (R-Ga), follows Trump’s harmful agenda that has forced small business owners to consider if they can stay afloat,” Weaver said during the rally. “Time and time again, Ossoff has pushed back on the administration’s policies and (stood) up for Georgia businesses.”
The last speaker was Ossoff, who previously worked as a documentary filmmaker, investigative journalist, and CEO and Managing Director at Insight Film until 2021, which was the first year he held his current Senate seat.. The Atlanta-based politician, who is running in the Nov. 3 election to retain his Senate seat, used the platform to emphasize values of non-partisan leadership.
Women’s Healthcare associates OB-GYN Dr. Lara Hart addresses attendants of the rally held for Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga, and Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms, which took place on Sept. 13 at the Georgia Theater, located on 215 N. Lumpkin St.. During her speech, Hart discusses the ways in which the actions of her district representative, Ossoff’s opponent Rep. Mike Collins, (R-Ga), a supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump, have impacted her practice. “Every day at work, I see the impact of Mike Collins’s refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. I have patients sit on the exam table and tell me they are declining treatments or surgery because they cannot afford it,” Hart said. “They were priced out of their insurance plan when the subsidies expired, and were either forced to go without insurance or pick a plan with little coverage.” Photo by Grady Dunston
“(Georgia’s) foster kids don’t have lobbyists or a super PAC. Neither do the women subjected to medical abuse and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) detention,” Ossoff said. “Neither do the female inmates sexually abused by the warden and the chaplain in their federal prison. (Advocating for them is) exactly what I’ll keep doing. We’re all in this together.”
Clarke Central High School class of 2018 alumna Karla Dougan attended the event with her father and felt energized by what she saw, an emotion that contrasted with
“It’s a little daunting to feel hopeful about politics given everything that has happened these past 10 years, but I felt hopeful about the upcoming elections in our state. The excitement was palpable in the packed (Georgia) Theater,” Dougan said.“Hearing Bottoms and Ossoff speak was amazing. It felt safe to be excited about the future, like I didn’t need to learn to live with the current state of our politics. I felt excited.”
