Abrams, Kemp Debate in 2022 Georgia Governor's Race
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and challengers Stacey Abrams (D) and Shane Hazel (Libertarian) squared off in a 2022 gubernatorial race debate Monday night.
Key Quotes: "In Georgia, it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat," Kemp said in regards to Abrams accusing him of having "assiduously denied access to the right to vote" during his tenure as governor. Abrams then said that Georgians need "a governor who believes in access to the right to vote and not in voter suppression, which is the hallmark of Brian Kemp’s leadership." Kemp replied that "for someone to say that we have been suppressed of in our state or we’ve seen turn out increase over the years, including with minorities like African-Americans, Latinos and others is simply not true."
For Context: Kemp defeated Abrams in 2018's gubernatorial race, which Abrams attributed to voter suppression; she refused to concede at the time "because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true, or proper." According to FiveThirtyEight's (Center bias) polling averages, Kemp held a 5-point advantage over Abrams as of Oct. 13.
How the Media Covered It: The debate was a top story from sources across the political spectrum Tuesday morning. Right-rated outlets focused heavily on Abrams' voter suppression comments and refusal to concede in 2018; left- and center-rated outlets covered the debate more broadly.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Right
Abrams, Kemp Spar Over 2018 Race, Unproven Voter Suppression Claims
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia and Democrat Stacey Abrams clashed during a Monday evening gubernatorial debate over the 2018 election and unproven claims of voter suppression.
“In 2018, I began my speech on Nov. 16, acknowledging that Governor Kemp had won the election,” Abrams said. “I then proceeded to lay out in great detail the challenges faced by voters under his leadership as secretary of state.”
Abrams refused to concede to Kemp in 2018, claiming “concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true, or proper” and that she could not...
From the Center
Five takeaways from the Abrams-Kemp debate in Georgia
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and his Democratic rival Stacey Abrams faced off on Monday in their first debate since they competed for the governor’s mansion in 2018.
The debate quickly became a policy-heavy affair, with the candidates hammering each other over everything from education to crime to election laws. What’s more, it unfolded on the first day of the state’s early voting period, offering Abrams and Kemp a key chance to make their cases to undecided voters before they cast their ballots.
Here are five takeaways from the Georgia gubernatorial debate.
Unlike in...
From the Left
Four takeaways from the Georgia governor’s debate
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams sparred over health care, crime and punishment, and voting rights in a Monday debate as they made their closing arguments to voters in a reprise of their fiercely contested 2018 race for the same job.
The stakes for this night were arguably higher for Abrams, who has trailed in most recent polling of the race. Kemp, one of the few prominent Republicans to resist former President Donald Trump’s lies about a stolen election in 2020, has positioned himself as a more traditional, pro-business conservative – a...
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