yahoo
President Donald Trump traveled to Georgia on Friday to campaign for Republican candidates in the state's high-stakes midterm elections, and he brought along a well-known figure for Georgia Bulldogs fans: former running back Todd Gurley.
Gurley, who starred at Georgia from 2012 to 2014 before becoming a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams, rode aboard Air Force One with the president. This marks the latest instance of Trump leveraging Georgia football stars to garner support in the key battleground state.
The rally took place at Dalton Municipal Airport in northwest Georgia, where Trump promoted Senate nominee Mike Collins, who is challenging Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, and gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson, who is facing former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. The visit comes amid reported divisions within the Georgia GOP, according to the Associated Press.
Collins defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley in a June runoff, and Gov. Brian Kemp did not endorse Collins until September. Kemp also skipped the rally, citing a family obligation. Jackson, meanwhile, only earned Trump's endorsement after he defeated Trump's original pick, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, in a runoff.
On Friday, Greg Bluestein of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Gurley would be joining Trump aboard Air Force One ahead of the rally. Gurley was named the NFL's Offensive Player of the Year in 2017 and was one of the most dominant running backs in the league until severe early-onset arthritis in his left knee derailed his playing career.
Gurley is not the first Georgia football figure to show support for Trump. Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton appeared at a Trump campaign stop in Rome, Georgia, back in February. And of course, Georgia legend Herschel Walker ran for the U.S. Senate with Trump's backing in 2022. Walker lost that race to Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, but Trump later named him U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas.
Key Analysis
Trump's use of former Georgia players to help win votes is a strategic move, given the importance of football to the state. Gurley's presence adds star power to the rally and underscores the intersection of sports and politics in Georgia.
Originally reported by yahoo.