ATLANTA — Fresh off of an electoral vote that solidified his presidency, President-elect Joe Biden was in Atlanta Tuesday to stump for U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock.

But first, he thanked the voters of the Peach State.

“Let me start with two simple words,” he told a crowd of hundreds. “Thank you.”

The visit came the day after Georgia’s 16 electors formally cast their ballots for Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris — the first time a Democratic presidential bid has been backed by the state’s voters since 1992. Democratic leaders called the vote a “historic moment” but recognized the work is not done.

Since the November election, President Donald Trump’s campaign and other Republicans have peppered Georgia with frivolous lawsuits. After the original tally, a statewide hand audit and another recount, the outcome remained the same. Biden won Georgia.

“I’m starting to feel like I won to Georgia three times. I have to say it feels pretty good,” Biden joked. “You just taught Donald Trump a lesson in this election: Georgia wasn’t going to be bullied. Georgia wasn’t going to be silenced. Georgia wasn’t going to stand by and let Donald Trump or the state of Texas – or anyone else – come here and toss out your votes.”

In a little over two weeks, Georgia voters will cast a decisive vote that will determine the balance of power in the upper chamber of Congress. If both Democrats, Ossoff and Warnock, beat their Republican opponents, U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, the Senate will be divided down the middle, giving Harris the tie-breaking vote on legislation.

The candidates face the challenge of increasing voter turnout of their bases with little focus on courting independent and moderate voters. Biden’s win in Georgia has been largely attributed to the changing political climate of Atlanta’s suburbs which in the past have been largely red but with the changing demographics are now dominated by Democratic voters.

Biden spoke at a drive-in rally to a crowd of a little less than 200 cars in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta. He urged Georgians to take to the polls for Ossoff and Warnock like they did for Biden himself.

“Tell your friends, your family, just like you did November, turn out to vote,” he said. “So it’s not even close.”

Biden slammed Perdue and Loeffler for embracing and enabling Trump in his quest to overturn the will of nearly 5 million voters in the state. 

“Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, they’re ready to represent Georgia. Georgia,” the President-elect said. “They’ll actually fight for you, represent you, stand up for you. They don’t put Texas first, they don’t put Donald Trump first, they won’t put themselves first either. They’ll put you first: the people of Georgia. There’s no doubt in my mind.”

Biden is the most recent high-profile surrogate to visit the Peach State in support of U.S. Senate candidates. Republicans have also had their share of star power — President Donald Trump visited Valdosta earlier the month and Vice President Mike Pence is soon making his fourth stop in Georgia.

Stacey Abrams, former gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist, also took to the stage ahead of Biden to encourage voters to repeat the enthusiasm they showed during the Nov. 3 general election.

“We have a chance to save America, Georgia,” she said. “This isn’t hyperbole. This is fact.”