The situation for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams isn’t looking good, according to both the polls and based on support (or the lack thereof) from a top player in her party.
According to Fox News, Abrams was hit with a massive November surprise just days before the 2022 midterm elections that could sink her already struggling campaign. Influential Georgia Democrat and former candidate for lieutenant governor Kwanza Hall fired the proverbial shot at Abrams’ campaign in his shock endorsement of incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, snubbing Abrams.
Hall’s devastating — at least for the Abrams campaign — endorsement of Kemp was made Friday in a statement. He didn’t hold back with citing his reasons for the endorsement, saying he believes Kemp is the person who’s able to make “tough decisions” in “unprecedented circumstances.”
“Over the last four years, I’ve witnessed Governor Kemp make tough decisions — ones that weren’t always popular at the time — in unprecedented circumstances,” Hall’s statement read, according to WAGA-TV.
It added, “While we don’t agree on every issue, it’s abundantly clear that Brian Kemp is a man of character, a strong leader, and someone who Georgians can trust to put them and their interests first,” Hall said in his statement.
Hall’s experience includes time on the Atlanta City Council, his candidacy for lieutenant governor and a one-month stint in Congress, filling the state’s 5th District seat to finish out a term for the late Democratic Rep. John Lewis.
His endorsement of Kemp, which will likely have profound implications for Abrams’ campaign as Election Day nears, came as Kemp had already secured a fairly comfortable lead in the race.
According to every single survey tracked and aggregated by FiveThirtyEight, Kemp leads them all, ranging from a two-point lead to a staggering 14-point lead in a Tuesday Remington Research poll.
That’s especially impressive given that Kemp is one of a very small group of Republican candidates who’ve managed to do quite well without the golden endorsement of former President Donald Trump. The two men had a rather nasty public falling out over the results of the 2020 election.
Will be this be the last we see of Stacey Abrams?
Yes: 45% (188 Votes)
No: 55% (231 Votes)
A recent Monmouth University poll gave Kemp a handsome 11-point lead. Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, opined on what he believes is happening in the Peach State as the election nears.
“Kemp’s support has clearly solidified in the past month while Abrams has been in a holding pattern,” Murray said.
Murray added, “I said last month, that some election conspiracists may be nursing a grudge against Kemp for not stepping in to overturn the 2020 result, but they were likely to come home in the end. That looks to be the case with the added bonus that Kemp distancing himself from Trump is a plus among some independent voters.”
Social media reaction to Hall’s surprise endorsement of Kemp sparked intense, mixed reactions. Not surprisingly, Georgia Democrats were extremely unhappy with the announcement, which couldn’t have possibly come at a worse time.
Black men in Georgia right now are embarrassing. Not that Kwanza Hall has ever been anything except embarrassing. The absolute weakest link. Just disgusting. https://t.co/TKTeBq9TlG
— Khadijah A. Robinson (@dijadontneedya) November 5, 2022
“I hope Kwanza Hall never gets another vote from Black Georgians. He’s so petty that he put his personal vendetta against Abrams ahead of the future of Georgia. What a disgusting disappointment! Kwanza Hall endorses Brian Kemp. All skinfolks ain’t kinfolks!” another Twitter user wrote.
In contrast, Hall’s Kemp endorsement was a pleasant surprise for other Georgia politicians, including Vernon Jones, a longtime member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
It’s just the beginning of Black democrats telling the democrat party to kiss my grits! Enough of destroying the nuclear of the Black family, failing schools, illegals placed above Black Americans, inflation, and high crimes in Black neighborhoods. #KwanzaHall! https://t.co/tuM65sA52R
— Vernon Jones (@VernonForGA) November 4, 2022
With Hall’s endorsement, combined with a secure lead in the 11th-hour polls, it looks as though Kemp, who narrowly defeated Abrams in 2018, will make her a two-time gubernatorial loser, and perhaps the final nail in the coffin of her political career.
