Kamala Harris called Black churchgoers to vote her into office and got a big assist from music legend Stevie Wonder.
The soul music legend led the crowd in singing his version of Happy Birthday to the vice president, who turned 60 on Sunday.
When he was done, she appeared to choke up, saying, I love you so much.
Wonder grinned and said dont cry before telling the crowd at at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro, Georgia, how important it was to vote.
Were going to make the difference between yesterday and tomorrow, he said. Wonder also rallied congregants with a rendition of Bob Marleys Redemption Song.
Kamala Harris looks on as Stevie Wonder sings Happy Birthday to her during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro, Georgia
Harris speaks with Wonder after he sang Happy Birthday to her
Attendees sing Happy Birthday as Stevie Wonder performs for Harris birthday
Harris later said that she had to check off a whole big one on her bucket list because of Wonder singing her a birthday song, which prompted the singer to spring up and lead the congregation in a quick verse of Higher Ground.
The vice president visited two Atlanta-area churches as part of a nationwide push known as souls to the polls. Jonesboro is just south of the Atlanta metro.
The mobilization was effort led by the National Advisory Board of Black Faith Leaders, which is sending representatives across battleground states to encourage early voting.
After services, buses took congregants straight to early polling places.
At both churches, Harris delivered a message about kindness and lifting people up rather than insulting them, trying to set up an implicit contrast with Republican Donald Trumps brash style.
Harris is surprised by campaign staff with birthday decorations on Air Force Two before departing Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta
Harris listens as Stevie Wonder performs Redemption Song during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International, in Jonesboro, Georgia, on Sunday
Attendees listen as Stevie Wonder performs Redemption Song during a church service and early vote event with Harris in Jonesboro
With just 16 days left until Election Day, Harris is running out of time to get her message across to a public still getting to know her after a truncated campaign.
There is so much at stake right now, she said.
We understand for us to do good works, it means to do it in the spirit of understanding that our strength is not based on who we beat down, as some would try to suggest.
Our strength is based on who we lift up. And that spirit is very much at stake in these next 16 days.
Pastor Donald Battle said of the election: Georgias gonna be the state that turns it for the vice president.
Souls to the Polls as an idea traces back to the Civil Rights Movement.
The Reverend George Lee, a black entrepreneur from Mississippi, was killed by white supremacists in 1955 after he helped nearly 100 Black residents register to vote in the town of Belzoni.
The cemetery where Lee is buried has served as a polling place.
Harris, and pastor Jamal Bryant arrive at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia
Attendees listen during a church service at New Birth Baptist Church before Democratic presidential nominee Harris speaks in Stonecrest, Georgia
Harris greets attendees as she arrives at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia
Black church congregations across the country have undertaken get-out-the-vote campaigns for years.
In part to counteract voter suppression tactics that date back to the Jim Crow era, early voting in the black community is stressed from pulpits nearly as much as it is by candidates.
Early voting began in Georgia on Tuesday, and more than 310,000 people voted on that day, more than doubling the first-day total in 2020.
A record 5 million people voted in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Earlier on Sunday, the Democratic presidential nominee attended New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, where the congregation also sang Happy Birthday.
New Birth Pastor Jamal Bryant called the vice president an American hero, the voice of the future and our fearless leader.
Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia
A protester (center) heckles as Harris speaks at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia
Attendees sing during a service at New Birth Baptist Church before democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks, in Stonecrest, Ga., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
He also used his sermon to welcome the idea of America electing its first woman president, saying, It takes a real man to support a real woman.
When black women roll up their sleeves, then society has got to change.
Harris referenced scripture as she promoted the importance of loving ones neighbor, and then drew a contrast to the current political environment.
In this moment, across our nation, what we do see are some who try to deepen division among us, spread hate, sow fear and cause chaos, Harris told the congregation.
The true measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you lift up.
One congregant who got a hug from Harris was 98-year-old Opal Lee, an activist who pushed to make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday.
Harris is a Baptist and her husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. She has said shes inspired by the work of Martin Luther King Jr, and influenced by the religious traditions of her mother´s native India as well as the Black Church.
Harris sang in the choir as a child at Twenty-Third Avenue Church of God in Oakland.
An attendee holds a campaign fan before Harris arrives to speak during a church service and early vote event at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro
Attendees listen as Stevie Wonder performs Redemption Song with Harris at Divine Faith Ministries International in Jonesboro
Her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, attended church in Saginaw, Michigan, and his wife, Gwen, headed to a service in Las Vegas.
Also Sunday, Harris sat for an interview with the Reverend Al Sharpton and was asked about the idea that she might see her support slipping among black men - some of whom may be reluctant to vote for a woman for president.
Former president Barack Obama suggested that might be an issue during a recent campaign stop for Harris in Pittsburgh.
Harris said she had garnered support from many key black male leaders, adding, theres this narrative about what kind of support we are receiving from black men that is just not panning out in reality.
On Monday, she will campaign with former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, in the suburbs of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Attendees clap as Harris arrives at a church service at New Birth Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia