Stacey Abrams Will Seek a Rematch With Brian Kemp for Governor of Georgia

Stacey Abrams launched her campaign for governor of Georgia yesterday with a pledge to fight for economic equality, voting rights, and expanded access to health care in the state. It sets up a rematch with Gov. Brian Kemp if he is able to again capture the Republican nomination. Abrams lost to Kemp by just 1.4% in 2018 and analysts expect another close race in 2022.

Abrams has earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading voting rights activists, and her work registering new voters in Georgia is widely acknowledged as the catalyst to President Joe Biden's victory in the state last year. Her efforts also made it possible for Democratic senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff to win runoff elections in January.

Illuminate: "More than anyone, Stacey Abrams is responsible for Joe Biden's victory in Georgia... Since narrowly losing her race with Brian Kemp for Governor in 2018, she has dedicated herself to grass-roots organizing in Georgia, registering hundreds of thousands of new voters. And she has raised a lot of money through her organization "Fair Fight" to support smaller local groups in their organizing efforts."

Prior to her voting rights efforts, Abrams served as Georgia's House minority leader, becoming the first woman to lead a caucus in either chamber of the state legislature. In that role she was credited with the ability to work across the aisle to pass bipartisan criminal-justice reforms and upgrade the state's public-transportation.

She has also shown an ability to unite moderates and progressives in the Democratic Party by focusing her attention on bread and butter issues like healthcare that impact all families and reminding them that the GOP's efforts to restrict voting access in the state makes it imperative that they work together.

New York Times: "Ms. Abrams has often rejected strict ideological labels in interviews, and she has been embraced by members of both the moderate and progressive wings of the Democratic Party. Activist groups have highlighted her focus on voting rights and her political strategy, which emphasizes cross-racial voter turnout in an increasingly diverse state."

The Abrams-Kemp rematch will be a major test of the GOP's efforts to restrict voting in the state, including closing polling stations in minority neighborhoods and passage of legislation which gives the Republican-controlled legislature more authority over the state's elections

New York Times: "From 2012 to 2018, for example, Georgia shuttered more than 214 voting precincts around the state, according to an investigation by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Of the 53 counties that have closed voting locations, more than half have significant African American populations, making up at least 25 percent of residents."

Georgia Republicans think such efforts will keep the state in the GOP's hands, but don't be surprised if their machinations lead to a record Democratic turn-out to support America's foremost voting rights advocate. And, whatever the result, it will be interesting to see how Donald Trump's wacky vendetta against Brian Kemp plays out during the race.

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By: Don Lam & Curated Content