Trump VP pick Pence makes case in Perry to keep Georgia Republican

With polls showing Georgia as a toss-up in the race for president, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence came to Perry on Monday to try to keep the state red.

About 400 people cheered and waved signs at the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter as Pence made the case for supporting Donald Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

He told the audience Trump would “confront radical Islamic terrorism,” cut taxes, restore law and order, build a border wall and “repeal Obamacare lock, stock and barrel.”

Georgians have seen little of presidential candidates in the past few general elections as the state has been solidly Republican. But realclearpolitics.com, in an average of seven polls, puts Trump and Clinton in a deadlock in Georgia at 43 percent each. The state has 16 electoral votes up for grabs.

Trump is trailing nationwide largely due to having gained little traction with minority voters. Two minorities were among those speaking at Monday’s rally before Pence took the stage.

Vivian Childs, who is black and from Warner Robins, gave an impassioned plea for Trump. She said the nation is in crisis.

“The nature of this crisis is the selection of the next Supreme Court justices of the United States,” she said. “If we cannot find common ground on anything else, we must realize that the selection of the next justices will determine this country’s future for years to come.”

Her husband, Henry Childs, is head of the Houston County Republican Party and is also an ardent Trump supporter.

Rey Martinez, a Hispanic city councilman in Loganville, urged Hispanics to consider whether their lives have improved in the last eight years.

“We have been lied to and bamboozled,” he said. “We don’t need to keep going down the same path.”

Anita Allen of Hawkinsville, wearing a red “Make America Great Again” cap, was in the audience.

“I loved every word that I heard,” she said. “He is definitely on my side because he is talking about building up the military. To me that’s very important because I lost a brother in Vietnam.”

Sonny Perdue, former Georgia governor and Houston County resident, introduced Pence and gave an enthusiastic endorsement of Trump.

“We cannot stand another eight years of what’s gone on the last eight years,” he said. “I believe in America. I believe in the vitality of America. I believe in the strength of America, but we cannot continue the slide into the abyss that we are in today.”

Pence is governor of Indiana and said he accepted the invitation to be the vice presidential nominee “in a heartbeat.”

“Donald Trump just gets it,” Pence said. “He’s the genuine article. He’s as genuine as a Georgia peach. He’s a doer in a game usually reserved for talkers.”

Pence took a few questions from the audience. One asked him about overcoming media bias and two others expressed concern about fraud in the November election.

Pence urged the audience to volunteer to be poll watchers.

“Be a part of it,” he said. “The American people can ensure these elections are administered with integrity.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Trump VP pick Pence makes case in Perry to keep Georgia Republican."