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Stacey Abrams says her opponent, Brian Kemp, has every reason to be worried about how she’s rallying voters to show up across the state of Georgia.
This week a leaked audio clip revealed Kemp, (who is also Georgia’s Secretary of State responsible for overseeing elections) at a private fundraiser saying that Abrams’ get out the vote effort “continues to concern us, especially if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote.”
At a Tuesday campaign stop in Valdosta, GA, Abrams addressed Kemp and voter suppression in an exclusive interview with theGrio.
When asked her reaction to the leaked audio, she replied:
“Good. He needs to be concerned, he needs to be concerned about the fact that there are people who understand what he’s doing. I understand that if they vote, they can change the future of Georgia. I know that he is speaking his truth and my truth is this, if voters show up, we will win this election.
People who need access to healthcare. People who need good education for their kids. People who don’t want to work two jobs and want one good job. I’m the person for them. So, I need them to understand that he knows they can change this election. Prove him right. Let’s get it done.”
Hours before Abrams hit her rally at Valdosta State University, a judge ordered Kemp’s state election officials to stop tossing absentee voter ballots.
That order was in response to an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, which claimed Kemp’s department was suppressing votes.
Abrams former work with The New Georgia Project helped to register hundreds of thousands of new minority voters, has also resulted into an investigation from Kemp’s team.
The race is extremely tight with a new NBC News/Marist poll showing Kemp favorable among 49 percent of voters and Abrams at 47 percent with a margin of error of 4.8 percentage points—meaning this thing could go either way.
Abrams knows the significance of her win could make national news history, crowning her as the first African-American woman governor ever, but she’s moved past the symbolism at this point. In her mind, the stakes are much higher.
“I am excited about being able to change the face of what leadership looks like in America,” says Abrams. “I’m excited about being the first. But I don’t want to be the last. What I say is this, I don’t want to be elected because I’m Black. I don’t want to win this election because I’m a woman. I should win this because I’m better.”
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