As she enters her 2022 campaign season, Stacey Abrams leaves this note with all Georgians: “I’ve never stopped fighting for Georgia. I’ve never lost faith that–together–we can build a brighter future for all of us. You should not lose that faith, either. Together, we can keep more money in families’ pockets, help our communities prosper and give our children the greatest opportunities to thrive. I’m running for governor because opportunity and success in Georgia shouldn’t be determined by your zip code, background or access to power. We are one Georgia. Will you join us?”
Stacey Yvonne Abrams was born on December 9, 1973 in Madison, Wisconsin. Abrams attended Spelman College, the University of Texas and Yale University before becoming a lawyer. In addition to having a law degree, Abrams is also a politician, author and voting rights activist. Abrams served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 and became the minority leader in 2011.
As an influential Democratic figure, Abrams founded Fair Fight Action in 2018, which is an organization that works to combat voter suppression. Because of her work as the founder of Fair Fight Action, Abrams has been widely recognized for increasing voter turnout in Georgia, especially during the 2020 presidential election. Thanks to her efforts, Joe Biden won the state. In addition to influencing the presidential election, Abrams’ work also significantly impacted
Georgia’s 2020-2021 Senate election and special election, giving Democrats majority rule of the Senate.
Abrams is commonly referred to as the highest-profile Black female political leader in the country who does not currently hold elected office. Abrams’ brilliant work as an elected official, voting-rights activist and service-oriented leader has made her an integral part of American politics today. Abrams’ advocacy has reimagined the democracy in the U.S., and her work is far from over.
Abrams announced her candidacy for Georgia governor on Wednesday, December 1. This monumental announcement signifies a new generation of opportunities for Black women in politics. Historically, the South has relied on voter suppression to retain power, but Abrams threatens this dynamic. Abrams has represented the radical democratic political activism of Black women ever since she narrowly lost the 2018 Georgia governor race to Republican Brian Kemp. After Abrams lost the election by a margin of 1.4 percentage points, she transformed into America’s most prominent activist on the forefront of voter suppression.
For her 2022 gubernatorial campaign, Abrams elected Lauren Groh-Wargo as her manager. Groh-Wargo has said that Abrams plans on continuing her 2018 strategy of creating a diverse assembly of both voters of color and white voters. Groh-Wargo said, “When I started in politics in this state that was something that people viewed to be at odds: that you had to do one or the other. That is something we’ve always rejected.”
Abrams will be up against Kemp again, but the race will be drastically different in 2022. Abrams now has national name recognition–something she lacked in 2018–and new fundraising organizations. Additionally, 1.2 million new voters have entered Georgia’s electorate since 2018. These new voters tend to be younger and more diverse, which will most likely benefit Abrams. The Abrams campaign has acknowledged this potential advantage while also remaining realistic. Groh-Wargo said, “What’s not necessarily obvious is how you put that together in a midterm [election]. We’re not going to sugarcoat…we don’t win a lot of midterms. That’s not a thing we do in our party.”
The Abrams campaign is aware of the challenges they face, but they are confident in the fact that Abrams has proved that she is qualified for the position of governor. Abrams no longer needs to build a name for herself because over the past three years, Abrams has been a dominant presence in all of American politics.
