On May 22, 2018 Stacey Abrams became the Democratic nominee in the Georgia gubernatorial race. If elected, she will become the nation’s first African-American female governor, but that’s not why she wants your vote. Abrams has enjoyed a flourishing of support from out-of-state donors, and this support was so great that 62 percent of her campaign donations were from out of state. She has also been able to inspire and mobilize many Georgians to get involved in her cause –– around 25 percent of Stacey Abrams campaign donations were under one-hundred dollars, an indicator of significant grassroots support. In September alone, Abrams raised $16.25 million.
Though Abrams is running on a socially liberal platform of advancing women’s rights, voting rights, LGBT rights, and promoting a more equal society, her fiscal plan is more reminiscent of a moderate conservative, which could be why she constantly flaunts her bipartisanship when it comes to her tenure as Georgia’s minority leader in the House of Representatives. Abrams’s vision for Georgia includes her belief that a tax hike is unnecessary, ineffective programs should be cut, and fiscal priorities should be reassessed—a traditional fiscally conservative.
Abrams has accepted the flowing national support her campaign has received over the past few months. Many national figures like Barack Obama, John Legend, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and Jimmy Carter have either endorsed her or have actively campaigned with her. Perhaps a national focus and a history-making race is why Abrams has been able to poll so well in an election where fiercely conservative Georgia Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, should be miles ahead. One of Kemp’s campaign ads features him driving a pickup truck and suggesting that the truck is for rounding up “illegals.” In his own campaign ads he calls himself a “politically incorrect conservative,” and pumps guns while saying that nobody can take them away. Kemp is the posterboy of the partisan shift to the right that happened after the election of former Republican governor, Sonny Perdue, in 2003. Kemp’s campaign has not been afraid of attacking Abrams or the policies she supports, but the Abrams campaign refuses to lash back.
As of now, Abrams is virtually tied in the gubernatorial race. The latest poll shows Kemp with a two point lead over Stacey Abrams but the poll has a 3.2 percent margin of error. Kemp had 48 percent, Stacey Abrams had 46 percent, around 3 percent were undecided and around 2 percent were supporting Ted Metz, the Libertarian candidate.
Yet again this race falls into the hands of black voters in metropolitan and rural areas, just like in the election of Senator Doug Jones in Alabama. Georgia suburbs are experiencing an influx of population by African-Americans. In 2018 the black population of Georgia’s second most white county grew by 5 percent. Rapidly diversifying Atlanta suburbs sound like votes waiting to be given on a silver platter to Stacey Abrams, but Abrams still needs to mobilize African-American voters. Recently DNC officials, specifically DNC chair Tom Perez, have been accused of ignoring the black female demographic and taking them for granted. Stacey Abrams hopes to change this perception through a fierce get out the vote campaign that has involved her touring all parts of Georgia and greeting as many voters as possible. Can the Abrams campaign shatter a glass ceiling that was built by voter suppression and the conservative party? That remains to be seen but, Stacey Abrams is met with cheering crowds at all her campaign stops, and has had a career full of uphill battle victories, so if there is one person who can turn Georgia blue, it’s Abrams. She is seen as a messiah against voter suppression in Georgia, so it is vital that on November 6, 2018, Stacey Abrams is elected to serve as the nation’s first black female governor.
