Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., is basking in the glow of two big wins this week.
First, he won his party’s nomination for reelection despite former President Donald Trump endorsing his rival.
And second, he got a big gift from his Democratic challenger, liberal activist Stacey Abrams, who gave him free material for a campaign ad when she slammed the very state she hopes to lead.
“I’m running for governor because I know that we have to have a conversation about who we are in this state and what we want for each other and from each other,” Abrams said during a speech cited by the Gwinnett Daily Post.
“I am tired of hearing about how we’re the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live.”
Kemp has boasted of the state’s pro-business climate under his administration.
Abrams replied with what sounded a lot like an attack not just on Kemp, but on the whole state.
“Now, somebody’s going to try to PolitiFact me on this — let me contextualize. When you’re No. 48 for mental health, when you’re No. 1 for maternal mortality, when you have an incarceration rate that’s on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you are not the No. 1 place to live,” she declared.
Abrams later said her comments were an “inelegant delivery.”
But she didn’t apologize – and she didn’t back down, and Kemp is already capitalizing on the lapse in judgment.
“Stacey Abrams may think differently, but I believe Georgia is the best state to live, work, and raise a family,” Kemp wrote on Twitter. “And Marty, the girls, and I will work hard every day from now until November to keep it that way for four more years!”
If you live in Georgia, then expect to see Abrams’ remark in TV ads. Both sides’ campaigns are shaping up to become expensive and aggressive.
Stacey Abrams may think differently, but I believe Georgia is the best state to live, work, and raise a family.
And Marty, the girls, and I will work hard every day from now until November to keep it that way for four more years! https://t.co/T77LF1DroP
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) May 22, 2022
GA may be #1 place for biz, but we’re #48 in mental health, #2 in uninsured. #1 in maternal mortality & new HIV cases, #9 in gun violence. For too many, Kemp’s Georgia doesn’t include them. Why? Because #KempDoesntCare
As Governor, I’ll lead #OneGeorgia that’s #1 for all of us.
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) May 22, 2022
Abrams came within 55,000 votes of Kemp in 2018, the closest gubernatorial race in the Peach State in 52 years. The Democrats lost the 2018 race by only 1.4 points.
Then, in 2021, Democrats won both Senate seats during a stunner of a runoff election.
But in 2018, Abrams had the advantage of running in a nationally pro-Democrat environment. The party regained control over the House in that election… and the 2021 runoff came just two months after Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win the state since 1992.
Since then, the momentum has shifted course. The public has grown weary in the face of high prices, continued pandemic problems and chaos both at home and abroad. Since Democrats control both Congress and the White House, they can be expected to get the blame at the ballot box.
Already, Abrams is starting from well behind her 2018 finish, with Kemp holding an edge of more than 5 percentage points, according to the latest average of polls collected by RealClearPolitics.
On the other hand, she did get a rather unexpected endorsement from Trump, who despises Kemp for refusing to back his claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
“Having her, I think might be better than having your existing governor, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said at a rally in Georgia last year, adding that Abrams “might very well be better” than Kemp.
“Stacey, would you like to take his place?” Trump asked rhetorically. “It’s OK with me.”
The Wall Street Journal this week urged Trump to end his “vendetta” against Kemp for the good of the party.
“Most GOP voters are focused on winning the next election rather than re-litigating the last one,” the newspaper wrote in an editorial. “Mr. Trump is hurting himself by focusing on his personal resentments rather than the interests of the Republican Party.”
— Walter W. Murray is a reporter for The Horn News. He is an outspoken conservative and a survival expert.