Stacey Abrams Announces Georgia Gubernatorial Campaign

December 2, 2021 by Reece Nations
Stacey Abrams Announces Georgia Gubernatorial Campaign
In this Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, file photo, Stacey Abrams speaks to Biden supporters as they wait for former President Barack Obama to arrive and speak at a campaign rally for Biden at Turner Field in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)

ATLANTA — Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams announced on Wednesday she will again run for governor in 2022.

Abrams previously sought to become Georgia’s first Black female governor in 2018 when she lost to current Gov. Brian Kemp. That election came down to the wire but Abrams ultimately conceded defeat by a margin of fewer than 60,000 votes. Kemp was found to have violated the Help America Vote Act as secretary of state in the lead-up to the election by purging voting rolls of hundreds of thousands of registered voters.

In her concession speech in 2018, Abrams announced the creation of Fair Fight Action, a voting rights nonprofit organization that ultimately sued Kemp for voter suppression. Abrams would go on to become the first Black woman and Georgian to deliver the response to the State of the Union address in February 2019 and was one of the speakers selected to jointly deliver the keynote address at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

“I’ve worked a lot of jobs in my life and for the past four years, when the hardest times hit us all, I’ve worked to do my part to help families make it through,” Abrams said in her campaign announcement video posted to her social media accounts. “Paying off medical debt for 68,000 Georgians, expanding access to vaccines, bringing supplies to overwhelmed food banks, lending a hand across our state, especially in rural Georgia. We helped finance small businesses trying to stay afloat, and I spoke up for families being left behind.”


In the video, Abrams would go on to say that while her occupation has changed, the values of Georgians have not. The video also debuts her campaign slogan, “One Georgia,” indicative of the unifying message that has inspired her to run again for the office.


Abrams has gone on to become a national figure for voting rights and was on President Joe Biden’s shortlist of candidates for running mate during the 2020 presidential election. Her work in establishing an estimated 800,000 new voter registrations gained her national recognition in helping turn Georgia for Biden in the election, as well as setting the stage for Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., in their respective election victories.

Abrams previously served as deputy city attorney for the city of Atlanta and received her Bachelor of Arts from Spelman College, a historically Black women’s college in Atlanta, before she received her Master of Public Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and her Juris Doctor from Yale University. She served as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives from 2011 to 2017 before winning her party’s gubernatorial nomination in 2018.

Her platform consists of priorities including Medicaid expansion, criminal justice reform, expanded gun control laws, an increase in public education spending and opposition to stricter voter ID laws. Abrams’ announcement is likely to trigger a rematch against Kemp in Nov. 2022, who faces primary challenges from former state Rep. Vernon Jones, activist Jonathan Garcia and educator Kandiss Taylor, who was a U.S. Senate candidate in 2020.


“If our Georgia is going to move to its next and greatest chapter, we are going to need leadership,” Abrams said in the announcement. “Leadership that knows how to do the job. Leadership that doesn’t take credit without also taking responsibility. Leadership that understands the true pain folks are feeling and has real plans.” 

Reece can be reached at [email protected]

A+
a-

In The News

Health

Voting

Political News

March 20, 2023
by Dan McCue
McCarthy Urges Calm if Trump Arrested

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday that he doesn’t think people should protest if former President Donald... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said Sunday that he doesn’t think people should protest if former President Donald Trump is arrested on charges brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. On Saturday, Trump took to his Truth Social social media site to say that... Read More

Trump Silent on Abortion as 2024 Campaign Pushes Forward

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — No elected Republican has done more to restrict abortion rights in the U.S. than Donald Trump. But... Read More

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — No elected Republican has done more to restrict abortion rights in the U.S. than Donald Trump. But in the early days of the 2024 presidential contest, no Republican has worked harder to avoid the issue than the former president. Far more than his... Read More

March 19, 2023
by Dan McCue
Florida Election Officials Slapped With Lawsuit Over ‘Wet Signature’ Rule

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida election officials have been slapped with a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s 2005 “wet signature” requirement.... Read More

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida election officials have been slapped with a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s 2005 “wet signature” requirement. Since 2005, Florida has required individuals registering to vote to submit their application with an “original signature.” In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Thursday,... Read More

March 19, 2023
by Dan McCue
Idaho Sued for Removing Student IDs From Valid Voter ID List

BOISE — Students in Idaho are suing the state after Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law that... Read More

BOISE — Students in Idaho are suing the state after Republican Gov. Brad Little signed a bill into law that removes student ID cards as an acceptable form of voter identification at polling places. In a complaint filed in the federal court in Boise by voting... Read More

March 18, 2023
by Dan McCue
Metro Police Monitoring Situation After Trump Calls for Protests

WASHINGTON —The Metropolitan Police Department is not aware of any protests planned in the district in the wake of former... Read More

WASHINGTON —The Metropolitan Police Department is not aware of any protests planned in the district in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s “announcement” he’ll be arrested next week, but is continuing to monitor the situation, a spokesman told The Well News on Saturday afternoon. For... Read More

Trump's VP? Some in GOP Already Jockeying for Consideration

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Trips to Mar-a-Lago. Glowing speeches. Front-row seats at major events. The first Republican presidential primaries... Read More

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Trips to Mar-a-Lago. Glowing speeches. Front-row seats at major events. The first Republican presidential primaries are nearly a year away and the candidate field is unsettled. But already, a shadow contest of another sort is underway with several Republicans openly jockeying... Read More

News From The Well
scroll top