Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said she was confident she would win her race against incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) — provided voters were able to overcome the “difficulties” implemented by state Republicans.
Abrams made the comment while appearing on MSNBC Saturday morning, after being asked by host Ali Velshi for her thoughts on the state of the race given that she is trailing Kemp by double-digits in the polls. Abrams replied by arguing that polls had inaccurately portrayed what was truly happening in the race, going on to claim that it was an issue of voter suppression if her supporters did not turn up at the polls on Tuesday.
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“While the polls are always going to tell the story you want to see, what we know is that the untold story is that this is a tight race, it is neck and neck, and we believe that we are on a path to victory if we can get all our voters turned out and if they can navigate the difficulties put in place by Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger,” Abrams said, referencing Georgia’s governor and secretary of state, both of whom were behind a state elections law last year that the Democrat has branded as racist and an effort to suppress minority voters.
The Georgia Democrat went on to accuse Kemp, Raffensperger and state Republicans of moving “to not only game the system, but to suppress voting in the state of Georgia.”
Abrams was referencing a controversial election reform bill signed into law by Kemp after the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump falsely claimed his loss was due to widespread voter fraud tipping the race for President Joe Biden. When Kemp found himself in a still-active feud with Trump over his refusal to support or legitimize his efforts to overturn the presidential election results, he attempted to mollify his standing with Republican voters by enacting legislation overhauling election protocols.
Kemp was lambasted by Democrats at the time, especially Abrams, over the sweeping election changes, but the GOP governor stood by the move, maintaining that he was not suppressing any Georgian’s right to vote.
The criticism subsided from some over the course of this year, as the Peach State reported record turnout numbers in the primaries as well as in early voting for the general elections this week.
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Abrams, however, has maintained her criticism of the law, telling Velshi on Saturday that early voting turnout was high in Georgia because people “understand that Brian Kemp and Brad Raffensperger put barriers in place, that they’re going to be denied access to food and water in lines that in years past have stretched up to four, eight hours. They know that there have been more difficulties put in place for absentee ballots.”
“White supremacist groups and hard right-wing groups” who “have been challenging people’s right to vote” also impacted voter suppression in the state, the Democrat alleged, adding that: “Up to 75,000 people have had their right to vote challenged because of the law passed by Brian Kemp. And he did so because he was frustrated by the results.”
