Stacey Abrams is widely expected to run for Georgia Governor again after losing to incumbent Brian Kemp, a Republican, in 2018, a loss that galvanized activists in the state who said Abrams and her supporters were the targets of voter suppression.
Since losing the race, Abrams has taken the problem of voter suppression head-on, launching Fair Fight, an organization that has registered tens of thousands of voters in Georgia and whose efforts proved instrumental to flipping the state for President Joe Biden and securing a Democratic majority in the Senate with the recent wins of the recently sworn-in Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock.
Now, Republican strategists who are backing Kemp have launched “Stop Stacey,” a group designed to undermine Abrams and her possible gubernatorial run.
“We will do whatever it takes to expose Stacey Abrams’ radical network, highlight her dangerous agenda, and ultimately defeat her — and her left-wing candidates — at the ballot box,” Jeremy Brand, the group’s senior strategist, said in a statement. “There is no time to waste: We must stand up, fight back, and Stop Stacey.â€
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Lauren Groh-Wargo, the CEO of Fair Fight, criticized the group, calling it a “desperate distraction.”
“Leader Abrams has made no decision about her political future, but here’s what I do know: GA Republicans failed on 11/3 & 1/5, with weak leaders, a disastrous COVID response, and families are suffering,” she wrote. “Rather than a desperate distraction, perhaps they can #StartServingGeorgians.”
Leader Abrams has made no decision about her political future, but here’s what I do know: GA Republicans failed on 11/3 & 1/5, with weak leaders, a disastrous COVID response, and families are suffering. Rather than a desperate distraction, perhaps they can #StartServingGeorgians. https://t.co/k49DD9q5Ss
— Lauren Groh-Wargo (@gwlauren) February 1, 2021
Abrams recently appeared on Pharrell Williams’s new OTHERtone podcast and commented on all the praise she’s received for flipping her state and changing the political calculus.
“I’ve tried my best to be celebratory of those who did the work,” she said. “I’d rather celebrate and recognize everyone who was a part of getting there. No matter when they got on board.”
“I have no right to victory. No politician running for office has the right to win,” she added. “But as a citizen of Georgia, I had the right to make certain that the votes were counted, that the people who wanted to participate could.”
Alan is a writer, editor, and news junkie based in New York.
