Democrat StaceyAbrams calls on Congress to act on voting rights as she launches a second bid for Georgia governor. Abrams tells AP that Democrats need to override Republican opposition to new federal voting guarantees by changing Senate filibuster rules.
to Republican Brian Kemp in 2018 after becoming the first Black woman to ever become a major party’s nominee for governor. She maintains that Kemp used his position as secretary of state to unfairly tip the scales in his favor by doing things like purging voters from the rolls. Kemp denies wrongdoing. Abrams’ loss and her response, including forming a new voting group called Fair Fight, vaulted her to national prominence among Democrats.
Republicans argue the law is fair to all and was necessary to restore confidence in the state’s elections after claims of fraud by then-President Donald Trump inflamed many GOP voters. Those claims have been debunked and repeatedly rejected by courts.Abrams insists she can still win election in Georgia next year even if there are no changes to its new law.
“This is a state that is on the cusp of greatness. But we have high income inequality; we have low graduation rates relative to our capacity; we have a broken public health infrastructure system,” Abrams said. “But we also have the ability, if we had good leadership, to invest in our communities, in all of our communities across the state.”