How Stacey Abrams plans to rewire Georgia politics and become America's first black female governor


While national Democrats debate pithy slogans, force out tired satires, and generally wonder what exactly they're supposed to be doing, Stacey Abrams has a plan. The Georgia state legislator and Democratic nominee for governor is a compelling speaker and driven public servant, Molly Ball wrote for Time in a profile published Thursday — but more than that, she's not afraid to try strategies that party bigwigs have largely ignored.
Georgia is a red state veering purple; in the run-up to the 2016 election, there were several polls that breathed life into the idea that Hillary Clinton could steal the conservative state. President Trump ultimately won the Peach State by 5 points, but Abrams thinks there's a coalition to be built that could nonetheless propel her to the governorship. Abrams is facing the deeply conservative Brian Kemp, who serves as Georgia's secretary of state and who has focused his campaign ads on culture war issues. Abrams, by contrast, has made budget priorities the center of her campaign, pledging to rejuvenate Georgia's public education system and overhaul its safety net.
The key, her team believes, is in tweaking its target voters:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Ever since Bill Clinton won re-election in 1996 with a strategy of triangulation, Democrats have tried to win in Republican territory by appealing to white centrist voters. The idea was to combine them with the Democrats' base, but it frequently left white voters cold and the base unenthused. Abrams' campaign is built on the proposition that a compelling candidate can get elected in the South with a progressive message that attracts liberal whites and minorities to the polls in greater numbers. [Time]
"I am coming for you, Georgia!" Abrams says, speaking to hyped up crowds. "Help me get there!" Read more about her plan to turn Georgia blue — and how she used to explain Republican lawmakers' bills back to them — at Time.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Why Syrian antiquities are flooding Facebook Marketplace
Under The Radar Looting of ancient treasures has surged since the fall of Assad, and finds a quick market online
-
Magazine solutions - June 20, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - June 20, 2025
-
Magazine printables - June 20, 2025
Puzzles and Quizzes Issue - June 20, 2025
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests
-
Trump foists National Guard on unwilling California
speed read Protests erupted over ICE immigration raids in LA county
-
Supreme Court lowers bar in discrimination cases
speed read The court ruled in favor of a white woman who claimed she lost two deserved promotions to gay employees
-
Trump-Musk relationship implodes in taunts, threats
speed read Musk said Trump's multitrillion bill would cause a recession and accused the president of involvement with Jeffrey Epstein
-
Trump hits Africa, Middle East with new travel ban
Speed Read The travel ban bars visitors from 12 countries and restricts entry from seven