Itโs official: Stacey Abrams has her eyes on the Georgia governorโs mansion.Abrams announced in a video posted to her Twitter account on Wednesday afternoon that she plans to be on the ballot to be the Democratic Partyโs nominee to try to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Kemp in next yearโs race.
Suggested Reading
Her announcement underscores Georgiaโs importancee in the crucial 2022 midterm elections. Since her 2018 loss to Kemp , Abrams has become one of the most formidable figures in her party. She built an infrastructure centered around the fight against voter suppression in Georgia, and her organization, Fair Fight PAC, has raised a reported $100 million since 2018. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that that surpasses any other candidate for office in 2022โand thatโs only counting money raised through June of this year. Millions of that money went to help other Georgia Democrats, including U.S. Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who rode a wave of anti-Tump sentiment on the way toward turning the once deep-red state purple in 2020. With all that swirling, Abrams enters a gubernatorial race in whatโs become a swing state and what could be a bellwether for broader national political changes, given its rapidly shifting demographics. In Atlanta, the stateโs capital and for decades regarded as the nationโs Black cultural and political capital, white voters had a slight participation edge over Black voters in last yearโs presidential contest. Abrams, herself a Black woman, will be running in a state that now has the highest number of Black women legislators in the nation.Earlier this month, a media blitz saw Abrams featured in a Newsweek cover story that dropped right after Democrats took an L in Virginiaโs governorโs race, a sign of possible weakness for the party as it tries to hold Congress down the back stretch of the Biden presidency. Abrams has already acknowledged that sheโd like to be president one day. Flipping the Georgia governorโs seat would build a lot of momentum.
Straight From
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.