Oprah Winfrey called on voters in Georgia to honour the men and women "who were lynched...repressed and oppressed" and make history by backing Democrat governor candidate Stacey Abrams in next week's midterms.

Ms Abrams is seeking to become the first black female governor in US history and Winfrey said breaking such barriers was important for those "who were humiliated, who were discriminated against... I refuse to let their sacrifices be in vain."

Winfrey also put to rest any rumours she was there for a potential run herself at the event in Marietta, Georgia, north of Atlanta.

She said: "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".

"I've earned the right to think for myself and to vote for myself, and that's why I am a registered Independent," the billionaire multimedia mogul said. Ms Abrams is running against Republican candidate and current secretary of state Brian Kemp.

It appeared to be a direct appeal to her own vast and diverse fan base to come and vote for Ms Abrams.

"Nobody paid for me to come here. Nobody even asked for me to come here. I paid for myself and I approve this message,” Winfrey said at the town hall event.

As she sat down with Ms Abrams on stage, the crowd chanted: “You get a vote! And you get a vote! And you get a vote!” parroting Winfrey’s characteristic enthusiasm when she would hand free items to audience members, like new cars, on her erstwhile television show.

Stacey Abrams campaigns in Atlanta to become first African American female governor

Both born into poverty and partly raised in Mississippi, Winfrey said had been asking around for Ms Abrams number about three days ago.

She noted she had reached her when Ms Abrams was driving: “I called up Stacey Abrams and said ‘Stacey, this is Oprah.’ She said ‘Girl, let me pull over!’”

It was not all jokes though, Winfrey’s speech was a rallying cry to vote for those in the American South, particularly the descendants of African-American slaves.

“For those who ha[ve] an ancestor who didn't have the right to vote and you are choosing not to vote ... you are dishonoring your family, you are disrespecting and disregarding their legacy, their suffering and their dreams,” she said.

US midterms Show all 15 1 /15 US midterms US midterms US midterms Candidates are fighting for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives. The lower house of the United States Congress currently has a Republican majority Getty US midterms US midterms 33 of the 100 seats in the US Senate are up for grabs. The upper house of the United States Congress currently has a Democratic majority AFP/Getty US midterms US midterms President Barack Obama is braced for a potential clobbering from voters. If the Republicans emerge as the majority party in the Senate, the impact would be considerable Getty US midterms US midterms Michelle Nunn: Democratic US Senate candidate for Atlanta, Georgia Getty US midterms US midterms Nunn is in a tight race with Republican candidate David Perdue Getty US midterms US midterms Jason Carter: Democratic candidate for Governor of Georgia. The grandson of 39th US President, Jimmy Carter, is surging against the incumbent Republican Nathan Deal Getty US midterms US midterms In Florida Charlie Crist, once a Republican governor of the state, now turned Democrat, is trying to oust Rick Scott, the Republican incumbent Getty US midterms US midterms Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is hoping to win a second term If he does, he will be considered possible presidential material Getty US midterms US midterms Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, is also a possible future president, this time for the Democrats Getty US midterms US midterms Will Martha Coakley, a former Massachusetts Attorney General, be elected as the next Democratic governor of that state? AFP/Getty US midterms US midterms And an incumbent John Hickenlooper hang on for the Democrats as Governor of Colorado? Getty US midterms US midterms People will inevitably be thinking about the 2016 presidential contest. Hilary Clinton has her eyes on the prize as the forerunner in the Democratic race Getty US midterms US midterms Potential Republican Presidential candidates include Senator Rand Paul... Getty US midterms US midterms ... Republican Senator Ted Cruz Getty US midterms US midterms And former Florida Governor Jeb Bush Getty

As much as Barack Obama’s election meant a great deal for African-Americans and other minorities, Ms Abrams’ win would be a major leap forward for black women who have historically been kept out of educational and professional opportunities as well as positions of power.

Several older black women The Independent encountered on the campaign trail in Georgia last week, those who had lived through the pre-1965 Jim Crow era when segregation was enshrined in law, could be seen holding back tears whenever Ms Abrams spoke.

Glenda Hatchett, the star of the television show Judge Hatchett, told The Independent: “as a black woman I want to be very clear that Stacey’s candidacy is about inclusion,” adding: “We will have a governor for all of Georgia.”

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Winfrey addressed them as well, quoting her personal friend and legendary poet and author Maya Angelou.

She “used to say, “Baby, your crown has been paid for so put it on your head and wear it. The right to vote is your crown,” Winfrey said.

Addressing what critics have called divisive and even racist rhetoric of Republicans and, specifically, Donald Trump, Winfrey said “the vitriol and the ads, they are designed to confuse and confound you with fear” and asked Georgians to “vote your values…[and] conscience”.

But, Ms Abrams message on the campaign trail has been one not just aimed at women of colour.

“I don’t want people to vote for me because I’m black," she said, answering a previous question from The Independent during a campaign stop at the UpNext barber shop in southwestern Atlanta.