By Troy Mters

DALTON, Ga.—President Donald Trump, aboard Marine One, flew directly over hundreds of supporters gathered for his rally on Friday at the Dalton Municipal Airport in northwest Georgia.

“U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A!” the crowd cheered during the president’s arrival and periodically throughout his speech.

Between highlighting accomplishments during his second term in the White House, criticizing Democratic candidates in midterm races across the country, and waiting for security to throw out a few protesters, Trump praised the Republican candidates in the Peach State’s elections this year.

Two races that voters in Georgia must decide this midterm cycle are the most consequential: the Senate and governor tickets.

In attendance at the Friday rally were both Republican candidates for those races, Rep. Mike Collins, running for the upper chamber position, and billionaire Rick Jackson, eyeing the governor’s mansion.

Two Democratic senators have represented Georgia since 2021, Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is the incumbent against Collins, and Sen. Raphael Warnock. A Senate win or loss in Georgia would greatly help or hurt the GOP’s slim majority in the upper chamber of Congress.

Georgia has been under a Republican governorship since 2003, and Jackson seeks to continue that streak in his race against former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms.

Early voting opened on Oct. 13, with a record turnout.

“We’re going to send Mike Collins to the United States Senate,” Trump said onstage, flanked by bulletproof glass around the podium and Secret Service agents around the stage. “We’re going to send a great friend of mine and an amazing, amazing man—Rick Jackson will be your next governor.”

Hundreds of attendees at a rally cheer on President Donald Trump. With midterm elections underway, Trump went to boost voters in Dalton, Ga., on Oct. 16, 2026. Troy Myers/The Epoch Times

A number of other local and state officials spoke prior to Trump’s arrival, including a sheriff, a candidate for secretary of state, and Kelly Loeffler, head of the Small Business Administration and former Georgia senator.

Before the rally began, Collins spoke to the media briefly until his staffers ushered him away.

When questioned about how it feels to have the president coming to support him in his state, Collins said: “It just shows that he knows what I know. This thing is in the margin era. It is right there. All we gotta do is just make sure that people go vote.”

Supporters listen to President Donald Trump give a speech with midterm elections underway across the country. Trump went to boost voters in Dalton, Ga., on Oct. 16, 2026. Troy Myers/The Epoch Times

Trump and other GOP officials at the Friday rally sought to build off momentum from the record-breaking first day, encouraging attendees to take their family and friends to cast their early ballots or to ensure they vote on Nov. 3.

As is the president’s style during his speeches at rallies, Trump also riffed with attendees and joked about the price of a hamburger at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Attendees at a rally in Dalton, Ga., on Oct. 16, 2026. Troy Myers/The Epoch Times

He drew attention to Collins’s opponent, Ossoff, and his record as a senator while likening him to “Pee-wee Herman.”

Trump also pointed to former Atlanta Mayor Bottoms’s record leading the city, saying crime rates rose dramatically under her tenure from 2018 to 2022. Jackson has also hammered his opponent’s time as mayor, which coincided with the Black Lives Matter protests and riots in major cities across the country.

“We want to get [Jackson and Collins] in office, we want to get them in office fast,” Trump said. “MAGA, call it what you want, there’s never been anything like it in history. When we can call for a little rally, so I get these two guys plus some others into office—and these two guys should be easy. That should be no choice.”

As the president exited the stage after a roughly hour-and-a-half speech, the crowd erupted again in cheers as the Village People’s 1978 classic “Y.M.C.A.” played.

Andy Acharya told The Epoch Times he is “super enthusiastic” about Georgia’s Republican candidates in the midterm elections.

Andy Acharya (R) poses with a friend after President Donald Trump finished a rally. The president went to boost voters in Dalton, Ga., on Oct. 16, 2026. Troy Myers/The Epoch Times

“I’m really proud of him. He’s doing a great job,” Acharya said of Jackson. “I think he’s going to be the best governor for our state.”

He shared the same sentiment for Collins.

Acharya, an Indian man, said he sees support growing among his demographic for Republican candidates.

“My kids were born here. I’ve been here the last 30 years,” Acharya said. “I love this country. This country gave me everything. So this is everything for me. … I [would] die for this country.”

Glenda Jackson, of Alabama, said she drove two hours on Friday to hear Trump speak. She ran to be secretary of state for Alabama earlier this year and is part of the executive committee for Alabama’s Republican Party. She said she has been heavily involved in campaigning for Republican candidates throughout the country for the 2026 midterms.

Although not a Georgia voter, she said a Collins and Jackson win in the Peach State is “1,000 percent” guaranteed.