Oprah to hit campaign trail for Stacey Abrams

Winfrey will participate in two town hall events with Abrams -- one in Marietta and one in Decatur -- on Thursday to aide her campaign in what has become a highly competitive, closely watched race.

"Oprah Winfrey has inspired so many of us through the years with her unparalleled ability to form real connections and strengthen the bonds of family and community," Abrams said in a statement Wednesday. "I am honored to have Oprah join me for uplifting and honest conversations with voters about the clear choice before us in this election and the boundless potential of Georgians."

It's a rare political endorsement for Winfrey, who backed former President Barack Obama during the primaries in 2008 and lent her support to Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election. On Tuesday, she appeared in a video with NBC News' Maria Shiver to urge people to vote, saying she's a political independent before adding, "people think I'm a Democrat."

If elected, Abrams would be the first black woman governor in any US state.

The Georgia gubernatorial race has drawn national attention and high-profile politicians to the Peach State. Former President Barack Obama will hold a rally for Abrams on Friday at Morehouse College in Atlanta, and other prominent Democrats, including former Vice President Joe Biden and Sens. Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Elizabeth Warren, have also traveled to the state to bolster Abrams' chances of winning.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, have also announced visits to support Abrams' Republican challenger, Brian Kemp, in the remaining days of the campaign.

Winfrey invited questions about her own political ambition earlier this year when she said at the Golden Globes that "a new day is on the horizon." She later told Vogue, however, that she wouldn't be able to stomach a presidential run.

"I would not be able to do it. It's not a clean business. It would kill me."