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Former 2018 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams may or may not be gearing up for another run at the governorship in 2022, but these days she has been crucial to a record voter turnout during the recent November elections.
“I want to talk about why we’re here,” said Abrams who moderated the virtual Get Out the Vote (GOTV) virtual rally which featured Rep. Nikema Williams, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock and former President Barack Obama. “A few weeks ago we did something no one thought was possible, we turned Georgia blue.”
Georgia, long a Republican stronghold, may be on the road to swing-state status, particularly after President-elect Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992 to carry the state in the Nov. 3 elections.
Georgia’s two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, failed to win more than 50% of the vote on Election Day and now face Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock again in runoff elections on Jan. 5.
If Democrats carry both seats, the balance in the U.S. Senate will be 50-50, with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris delivering tie-breaking votes. That would enable Biden to enact a more ambitious agenda.
Abrams, 46, beginning with her historic gubernatorial nomination and campaign in 2018, has been a major political player in the state and at no time has that been more true than now. Georgia experienced a record in voter turnout during the past election and though it would be incorrect to credit Abrams with sole credit for the four million-plus votes cast, she does deserve ample credit for making hundreds of thousands of voters aware of their right to vote via FairFight.com, which she founded in 2018.
Asked if Abrams presence is important to both Democratic senatorial candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in the upcoming Jan. 5 runoff elections, Georgia State University Political Science professor and Executive Director, Southern Political Science Association Robert M. Howard answered in the affirmative, “She’s extremely important. Abrams is the most powerful political figure in the Democratic Party in Georgia. Clearly she’s the leader of the party and has star power.”
Alan Abramowitz, a professor at the Emory College of Arts and Sciences Political Science Department. understands how important Abrams has been to the Democratic Party in Georgia but she’s not alone. “[Abrams] is very important but she is not the only reason Georgia has been trending blue. Obviously, long-term demographic shifts have been crucial along with Donald Trump’s norm-breaking presidency which has alienated many college-educated white voters.”
During the virtual rally Abrams talked about Republican Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler who are in runoffs with Ossoff and Warnock, respectively, and allegations that both had more interest in their stock portfolios than in COVID-19 precautions back in March. “This cannot simply be measured by the stock market, it has to be measured by the supermarket,” she said.
“In the senate we have the opportunity to match the needs of the people with the power of our senators. We have two senate seats up for grabs but we know how to win those seats.”
Many of those voters and others were among the thousands in attendance during the virtual rally. The virtual rally included a sign language interpreter and a phone number for a voter hotline on screen throughout. “
The rally is timely with early voting beginning in Georgia on December 14 and the runoff election day following three weeks later on January 5.
President Donald Trump is expected to appear at a rally for Loeffler and Perdue in Valdosta Saturday.
Vice President Mike Pence is campaigning in Georgia on behalf of Loeffler and Perdue as well. Pence visited the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta Friday for a briefing on a vaccine and will be in Savannah at a rally for the Republican Senators.
