BY: Walker
Published 2 years ago
Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and his Democratic rival Stacey Abrams are deadlocked in the race for Georgia governor.
via: BET
Of those polled, Gov. Brian Kemp has 50%, and another 48% say they support Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams. With the poll’s 2.7 percentage point margin of error, the candidates are locked in a statistical dead heat.
Kemp narrowly beat Abrams in the 2018 Georgia governor’s race. If elected, Abrams would become the nation’s first Black woman governor. Her efforts are credited with helping President Joe Biden win Georgia in 2020.
Holli Holliday, president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, an organization dedicated to promoting and supporting Black women’s political participation, says the numbers bear out what has been happening in Georgia for some time.
“This poll reflects that we know the changing demographics of Georgia have led many voters to feel under-represented,” she told BET.com. “And this is why many Georgians feel they have the true opportunity at representation in their state Government.
“People can recognize the power of their vote. I especially think this is the case for Balck voters in georgia,” Holliday continued. “They have the power to choose who represents them.”
Abrams’ voter registration efforts are credited with helping Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock capture the state’s U.S. Senate seats in 2021. While polls show the incumbent Kemp currently leading the race, he is thought to be vulnerable among some of his likely supporters due to his refusal of the former president’s demands to falsely declare that Trump won the state in 2020.
Warnock is ahead of challenger and former NFL player Herschel Walker by six points in the senate race, according to the Quinnipiac Poll. The two have agreed to a debate on Oct. 14 in Savannah.
Despite bucking the pro-Trump line, Kemp has been criticized for not supporting voting rights, especially among Black voters in the state. In a debate between Abrams and Kemp from 2018, a viral clip has resurfaced in which Abrams explains to Kemp how his support of tactics that have suppressed Black votes in Georgia was illegal and was the reason she and other voting rights advocates sued him in 2016.
Oh my goodness watch this pic.twitter.com/JO2s52o8xN
— Ben Wexler (@mrbenwexler) August 31, 2022
In the meantime, Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in a statement, “There is no cushion and no comfort zone for either candidate as the Georgia governor’s race roars to a finish and with the vast majority of voters saying they’ve already made their choice, there’s little wiggle room for either candidate.”