Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams has floated the idea of running for offie again after her last two failed campaigns, but some state Democrats are ready for her to move on, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Abrams‘ 2022 campaign outraised her rival, Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, by $8 million, with the vast majority of donations coming from out of state, but ran out of money, lost the race and is still facing major debts. Despite her 2018 and 2022 losses, Abrams has not ruled out a third run for governor, prompting worry from some Georgia Democrats, according to the AJC. (RELATED: Stacey Abrams, Who Denied Election Results In Georgia, Overseeing Nigerian Election)
“I will likely run again,” Abrams said in January. “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. If it doesn’t work, you try again.”
Bobby Kahn, the former head of the Democratic Party of Georgia, suggested Abrams would lose if she ran again and told the AJC it was time for her to move on.
“The party needs to move forward. And going 0-3 isn’t a way to go forward. Does she really want to be the next Guy Millner?” Kahn said, according to the AJC; Millner was a Republican executive who lost three statewide races between 1994 and 1998.
“She can’t just chalk it up to running against an incumbent. She raised a record amount of money. And Democrats in 49 other states thought she would win,” he told the outlet. “She will still be hard to beat in a primary. You have to hope she comes to this conclusion herself. There are a lot of rising leaders in the party ready to step in.”
ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 07: Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams speaks to the media after posing for photos with students and encouraging voting at Georgia State University on November 7, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images
Yvonne Stuart, the chair of Monroe County’s Democratic Party, praised Abrams but told the AJC that her loss was due partly to her “becoming too much of a celebrity” between her campaigns.
“I do believe there might be another charismatic Democrat that can take us all the way in 2026,” Stuart said. “There was major talent on our ticket all the way down the ticket in 2022.”
David Ellis-Mendoza, the chair of the Bartow County Democrats, was hesitant to directly criticize Abrams, but said Abrams’ team had passed on chances to work with rural communities and that the party needed a candidate who could better appeal to independent voters.
Abrams could not be reached for comment, and the Georgia Democratic Party did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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