‘I’m Kind of a Big Deal, Too.’ Pence Responds to Oprah's Endorsement of Stacey Abrams

Vice President Mike Pence told a crowd in Georgia on Thursday that he was “kind of a big deal,” after railing against “Hollywood liberals,” including Oprah Winfrey and Will Ferrell, who lent their support to Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor.

“Stacey Abrams is being bankrolled by Hollywood liberals … I heard Oprah was in town today. And I heard Will Ferrell was going door-to-door the other day,” he said. “Well I’d like to remind Stacey and Oprah and Will Ferrell: I’m kind of a big deal, too.”

Pence was campaigning for Abrams’ Republican opponent, Brian Kemp. Kemp and Abrams are neck-and-neck, with the latest polls showing they are at a statistical tie ahead of the election Tuesday.

He added: “Stacey Abrams is being bankrolled by Hollywood liberals,” Pence said. “I’ve got a message for all Stacey Abrams’ liberal Hollywood friends. This ain’t Hollywood. This is Georgia.”

In a speech on Thursday that went viral online, Oprah told a crowd in Georgia: “Nobody paid for me to come here. Nobody even asked me to come here. I paid for myself and I approve this message.”

Winfrey is in Georgia in support of Abrams, who hopes to become Georgia’s first black female governor. (Abrams was on the cover of TIME’s issue on the American South in August.)

She also tamped down rumors that she was there to test the waters for her own possible Presidential run. “I want to make it very clear … I don’t want to run, okay? I’m not trying to test any waters. Don’t want to go in those waters. I’m here today because of Stacey Abrams.”

Write to Billy Perrigo at billy.perrigo@time.com.