Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has defended remarks she made Saturday calling her state “the worst” in the country to live in.
WHAT SHE SAID
Speaking at a fundraising dinner, Abrams pushed back on Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s boasts about Georgia being ranked the best state for business.
“I am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live,” said Abrams, a liberal darling who is running unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary.
- Abrams went on to cite Georgia’s poor rankings in maternal mortality and incarceration rates, among other issues.
- “But we can get there,” Abrams said, suggesting only she can fix Georgia, “we just need greatness to be in our governor’s office.”
- Amid record-breaking early turnout in Georgia’s primaries, Abrams, who has insisted her 2018 loss to Kemp was “rigged” by voter suppression, did not repeat her claims that a new state voting law is exceptionally racist.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
Kemp and his GOP challenger David Perdue, a former U.S. senator from Georgia, both criticized Abrams for beating up on their state.
- The reaction from Perdue, who was trailing well behind Kemp in the polls despite former President Trump’s endorsement, was deemed racist by mainstream news outlets.
- “Hey, she ain’t from here. Let her go back to where she came from. She does’t like it here,” Perdue said at a rally Monday.
- Perdue also accused Abrams of “demeaning her own race,” apparently referring to her 2018 remarks saying black Georgians should’t have to work on farms or in agriculture.
“I can apologize all day for my phrasing, but I will never apologize for my meaning,” Abrams responded Monday on MSNBC.
- “And that is that we mean to serve the people of Georgia and we mean to make Georgia better for everyone. And I want to lift everyone up.”