Knock Knock — It’s Oprah! Winfrey Campaigns for Stacey Abrams as Mogul Says She Won't Run in 2020
Some Georgia residents got the surprise of their lives on Thursday when they opened their doors to find Oprah Winfrey on the other side.
The media mogul hit the campaign trail and went door-to-door to urge citizens to vote for Stacey Abrams, Georgia’s Democratic candidate for governor, on Nov. 6. In a video posted on her Instagram, Winfrey knocked on the red door of a brick house, and a woman named Denise came to the door.
“Oh my god!” Denise yelped. “Hi Oprah.”
“Surprise, surprise,” Winfrey, 64, said.
“Surprise? I am shocked!” Denise said.
“So I’m canvassing for Stacey Abrams,” Winfrey said. “Are you voting for her?”
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“I absolutely am voting for her,” Denise replied.
“Do you have an early voting plan?” Winfrey continued.
She captioned the video: “U never know who’s gonna come a knocking! #teamabrams.”
U never know who’s gonna come a knocking! #teamabrams
A post shared by Oprah (@oprah) on Nov 1, 2018 at 10:51am PDT
In another video, Winfrey said, “It’s my very first time ever canvassing for anybody, and it has been a really interesting experience because when you knock on a door, you don’t know what people are going to do or say or how they’re going to react. This is the South. People have been really wonderful and really optimistic about Stacey Abrams.
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“I left my home in California because I heard about what was happening down here in Georgia, and I wanted to do whatever I could to lend my support,” Winfrey added.
“We’re gonna win. We’re gonna win,” she sang at the end.
.@Oprah is knocking on doors for @staceyabrams, @SarahRiggsAmico, and @GeorgiaDemocrat today — because all of us must do our part to lead Georgia forward! ???????? Join us: https://t.co/jBR0rTkgHr #TeamAbrams #gapol pic.twitter.com/HKKECz3xnB
— Team Abrams - Vote Early TODAY (@teamabrams) November 1, 2018
Winfrey is speaking at two events on Thursday in Marietta and Decatur, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Vice President Mike Pence is campaigning for Abrams’ Republican opponent, Brian Kemp, at three events.
“I want to tell you … no one paid for me to come here. No one asked me to come here,” Winfrey said at her first rally of the day, according to NBC News. “I came for myself and I approve this message.”
Winfrey praised Abrams for “standing strong for the values that matter to me and the values that matter to Georgians all over this state.”
Winfrey also emphasized that her appearance in Georgia was not part of a larger plan to run for president. “I want to make it very clear to all of the press, everybody, I am not here because I am making some grandstand because I’m thinking about running myself,” she said. “I don’t want to run. I am not trying to test any waters, don’t want to go in those waters.”
Winfrey sparked 2020 chatter earlier this year after her inspiring speech last January at the 2018 Golden Globes while accepting the Cecil B. DeMille Award. She has since said multiple times that she has no interest in throwing her hat in the ring — despite continued calls for her to run.
Meanwhile, Pence criticized Abrams for her celebrity support, according to multiple media outlets, saying, “I heard Oprah’s in the state today, and I heard Will Ferrell was going door-to door the other day (the actor canvassed for Abrams last week). Well I’d like to remind Stacy and Oprah and Will Ferrell, I’m kind of a big deal too.”
