Bill Clinton campaigns for Kamala Harris in Georgia, North Carolina

Kamala Harris' presidential campaign deployed Bill Clinton to key states 22 days after Election Day.

The former president campaigned on behalf of Harris in Albany, Georgia, on Sunday, addressing the congregation at Mount Zion Baptist Church. The Harris campaign announced Thursday that Clinton will headline a bus tour through eastern North Carolina this week.

Both Harris and former President Trump visited the Tar Heel State in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen.

Clinton's bus tour comes after Harris' rally on Sunday at Eastern Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

“As Isaiah said, what works is bringing people and buildings together and mending rifts,” Clinton said Sunday at Mount Zion Baptist Church. “Blaming, dividing, and humiliating will bring in lots of votes at election time, but it won’t be effective.”

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“This entire election and the future of this country is becoming about what these undecided voters do over the next three and a half weeks,” Clinton added to the crowd. “That's the craziest thing I've ever seen.”

The black church was not full, but a large crowd greeted Clinton with a standing ovation, according to the Associated Press. Many of the attendees were elderly, but there were also younger people spread out throughout the seats.

Albany was a battleground in the early days of the civil rights movement. The city gained national attention in 1961 and 1962 when hundreds of protesters, including Martin Luther King Jr., were arrested and jailed.

Former President Bill Clinton and Congressman Sanford Bishop meet at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Sunday, October 13, 2024 in Albany, Georgia. (AP Photo/Charlotte Crammon)

Mr. Clinton, who served as governor of Arkansas before taking office, also spoke at the Harris campaign's Albany office and said he had asked the campaign to send him to the countryside where he felt most at home.

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The 42nd president's visit to the two battleground states is another attempt by the Harris-Waltz campaign to appeal to rural voters who have traditionally voted Republican in recent presidential elections.

The Trump campaign launched a three-day bus tour across North Carolina last week, bringing Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.) and several former Trump administration officials to the Republican presidential nominee. He ran an election campaign on his behalf.

Former President Bill Clinton speaks at Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign promotional launch on Sunday, October 13, 2024 in Albany, Georgia. (AP Photo/Charlotte Crammon)

Democrats see Clinton as someone who can mobilize both rural voters and black voters. But while Mr. Clinton was recognized as popular among black communities in the South, he could still inspire black voters as the population familiar with his presidency grows older, according to the Associated Press. It is not yet known whether that is the case.

Georgia is one of seven critical states in this year's presidential election, and black voter turnout could be the key to Democrats winning the state's 16 electoral votes.

According to the Associated Press, President Biden won Georgia in 2020 by a margin of 11,779 votes out of more than 5 million votes cast. It was the first time a Democrat took over the state since Clinton in 1992. Four years later, Clinton lost the state to Republican Bob Dole but won reelection.

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In 1992, Mr. Clinton and then-Sen. al gore He rode a campaign bus through southwest Georgia to appeal to rural voters. Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz revived this approach by visiting Savannah and Liberty counties in the southeastern states early in their campaigns, but not to the west.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.