There are several different explanations why Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for Georgia governor, is losing so badly to incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
“I do not believe it’s because of a deep well of enthusiasm for my opponent,” Abrams told Ali Velshi on MSNBC this weekend. “Unfortunately this year black men have been a very targeted population for misinformation.”
So when the chips are down, blame black men? Not exactly a winning strategy.
Veteran Georgia newsman Chuck Williams asked Abrams during the first debate, “public opinion polls in our state show support for the right to abortion, Medicaid expansion, and banning assault weapons. You are on the side of public opinion on each of these issues, yet you are behind in almost every poll. Why?”
In other words, after four years of adulation from the national media and extreme deference from top national Democrats, why are you so unpopular?
Abrams’s narrow 2018 loss catapulted her to Democratic superstardom. Her refusal to concede and subsequent critique of her state’s electoral system, which had been overseen by Kemp in his previous role as Georgia’s secretary of state, served as the launchpad for her role in national politics.
Her party and its allies jumped on the chance. Abrams delivered the Democrats’ response to Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address, with the main theme of ensuring that every vote counts and that elections are fair — the implication being that hers wasn’t. In what apparently passes for “cosmic justice” these days, Abrams played the president of a “United Earth” in an episode of Star Trek: Discovery in March 2022.
Indeed, Abrams’s idea of “justice” — cosmic or not — has been questioned after a debate answer when she described sheriffs who’d endorsed Kemp as “good ol’ boys” and “107 sheriffs who want to be able to take black people off the streets, who want to be able to go without accountability.”
Georgians are not voting for a right to an abortion, for gun control, or for Medicaid expansion. But with a national crime wave underway, dissing law enforcement officers is not a good political move. Not did it help her law-and-order cred by backing the “defund the police” movement.
“Georgians’ opinions of Abrams have only gotten worse as Stacey continues to put her political weight behind poor decisions,” a local GOP operative tells Spectator writer Matt McDonald. “Defunding the police was a stupid movement that led to obvious outcomes… wanting to stay closed versus opening up… backing weak attempts to characterize Kemp’s election security measures and expanded voting opportunities as ‘suppression.’ All her terrible choices make her look dumb at best, and vindictive at worst. You don’t need to be a Republican to see how Kemp made great decisions and Stacey backed poor ones.”
Pushing Abrams’s national persona on the Georgia governor’s race had unforeseen consequences. It may have boosted Abrams’s profile, but it also tied her more firmly to Joe Biden and other national Democrats. “Shooting fish in a barrel” is a saying that comes to mind.
Fans of Stacey Abrams needn’t worry. She’ll be back running for some office — maybe president in 2024. If not, she could try for senator in 2026. What’s certain is that with the kind of national hero worship she enjoys, she will never lack for support from the national media.
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