Stacey Abrams’ war for women’s votes

July 8, 2022

Inside today’s Swing State Georgia:

• Georgia Republicans still irked with Major League Baseball.

• Does the latest crazy Herschel Walker story even matter?

• And Marjorie Taylor Greene lights up Twitter.

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With a majority of Georgia Democrats’ statewide candidates being women, the party’s 2022 message was always going to skew a bit female.

But that doesn’t mean they have the votes of women locked up for November.

At an event in East Atlanta Thursday night, gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and attorney general nominee state Sen. Jen Jordan told a room of mostly women that contacting, talking to and winning over female voters in Georgia would be crucial to securing Democratic victories in 2022.

“Four years ago, we thought that we won some of our battles. Forty-nine years ago, we thought we won the war. And yet we are still in the middle of the fight,” Abrams said.

With the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade now official and abortion rights the purview of states, Abrams hammered her opponent, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, for signing the state’s 6-week abortion ban in 2019.

“Brian Kemp does not care about the women of Georgia, and we need to care enough about ourselves to get him out of here,” she said.

Patricia Murphy @MurphyAJC

At an event with pro-abortion rights activists, @staceyabrams tells the mostly female crowd, “Brian Kemp does not care about the women of Georgia, and we need to care enough about ourselves to get him out of here.” #gapol

Jordan, the nominee for attorney general, said her opponent, AG Chris Carr, moved quickly last month to get the Georgia law enacted as soon as possible after being held up in court.

“I’ve actually never seen him move so fast, to be honest with you,” Jordan said.

She also told the crowd that they need to reach out to other women in their communities. “We have to move the needle and most women in this space have no idea what HB 481 does,” she said.

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Democrats believe the abortion issue will provide them with a big boost - but the polling so far doesn’t seem to indicate major change this election year.

What the polls do show is that the biggest concern for voters in both parties right now is the economy - not abortion.

On Thursday, Abrams said she knows pocketbook issues - especially inflation - will be a big deal for some voters in November.

“We’ve got to give them the space to know that we can solve the immediate issue of your money, but we cannot solve the loss of our rights if we do not fight this.”

Abrams also reminded voters Friday that Medicaid expansion is still at the heart of her policy agenda, releasing a new video explainer about her promise to embrace the idea if she’s elected.

You can watch it here.

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LISTEN UP: It’s time for the end-of-the-week edition of the Politically Georgia podcast. We wrap up the week that saw more grand jury subpoenas, big fundraising dollars, and the meaning behind the destruction of the mysterious Georgia Guidestones.

Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.

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PLAY BALL. As this year’s All-Star game approaches, some leading Republicans can’t help but look back at Major League Baseball’s decision in 2021 to move the baseball showcase from Truist Park in protest of the state’s new election overhaul.