Stacey – Running for the Governor of the United States of America!

We already know that the two Democrat candidates, Stacey Evans and Stacey Abrams, have tons in common.  They are both experienced, qualified, lawyer, legislator, women, and candidates for the Governor of Georgia.  They would both be breaking barriers by being the first woman governor for Georgia.  With the May 22^nd primary looming over us, how do the over 50% of undecided Democrat voters make a choice. [1]

One clear distinction, from the mouths of the candidates themselves, is their end goals and purpose of their run for Governor.  Of the Stacey’s, one is running to make Georgia better with the goal of ensuring free college education to every Georgian by expanding HOPE.  The other Stacey is ambitiously running for Governor with the White House as the goal in mind.

Although nicely produced, the television commercials of all the gubernatorial candidates fail to answer the question, “why Georgian’s should vote for me?”  In the Democratic Primary, it requires deep digging to identify differences between these two qualified candidates without appearing to “sling mud.”   All Dems agree, if we have any chance of regaining the control of state politics, there is no better time than the Trump Era to make it happen.  This mid-term election is our chance. #RidetheBlueWave

Stacey Evans has made it clear that her run for Governor was sparked by Republicans who stopped her legislation to restore HOPE solely to prevent her from looking like a Governor and attracting Georgia’s independent and swing voters.  Evans’ choice to run for Governor became possible after winning her landmark civil case, which for the first time in life allowed her the financial independence necessary to take on a Gubernatorial run.[2]  After her HOPE legislation continued to get stopped at the Governor’s office, Evans decided to take her passion for Georgia’s children to the Governor’s mansion.  Evans even put her money where her mouth is by contributing more than a million dollars of her own money towards her campaign efforts.

“Abrams has her life plan mapped out in an Excel spreadsheet, with rows listing the jobs she aspires to, and columns detailing the skills she’ll need to get there.”

Cosmopolitan November 27, 2017

Abrams is running for Governor to eventually become President of the United States of America.  The first time I learned this directly from Abrams herself was during this bid for Governor.  Abrams makes it plain in this very flattering Cosmopolitan magazine article.[3]  It was not a surprise however, as it was the worst kept secret in the Democratic Caucus while Abrams was the Minority Leader.  It explains why such a high number of Democrat elected officials, most notably a high number of African American legislators that served with both women, choose to support Evans over the former leader of the party in the Georgia House. [4] [5]

Typically, being ambitious is a pro rather than a con for any leader.  Abrams deserves credit for being upfront and forthcoming with her ultimate goal of the White House and going for it full steam. She is pushing for a seat on the national stage better than I’ve ever seen it done.  Since the beginning of her campaign Abrams has been in Cosmopolitan, Forbes, Washington Post, the Root, MSNBC, and every major nationwide platform.  Whether she wins or loses the Governor’s race or this primary, Abrams’ is pushing for the “Ossoff Effect.”  Ossoff’s run caught national attention, national donors, and in political circles around the country both Ossoff, and now Abrams, have wide name recognition that opens doors for the future.  In comparison, Evans’ push for local papers, local meet and greets, and small groups in rural and urban Georgia makes Evans’ campaign more grassroots but far less exciting in our social media based political climate.

“We’ve got to have that increased minority, base turnout. But we also saw in both [Virginia and Alabama] a huge increase in the white vote, particularly from suburban areas, coming over for Democrats…. We will not likely win the northwest and northeast Georgia counties, but we cannot perform as poorly as we have in the past and be afraid to compete for those voters….I’m not suggesting that we go and get these votes by being Republican-lite.”

Stacey Evans.  Politico January 2018

Ask the former legislators and African American leaders who do not support Abrams (whether they have come out for Evans publicly or not) why they are not outwardly supporting the former Minority Leader and possible first African American Woman governor in the Country.  I’m willing to bet many have an example where Abrams used the position of Minority Leader to advance Abrams’ personal agenda before the agenda Democratic Party, before the metro-Atlanta area, before her district, before women, and before the African American community.

To be fair, I cannot give the impression that there were not any benefits to Democrats, women, African Americans, and progressive values while Abrams was in leadership.  She is a true-blue Democrat and hard-working woman.  As a result of her ambition to the White House, by way of the Governor’s mansion, Democrats got residual benefits.   However, there are countless examples (Gwinnett County redistricting, Fulton County Commission redistricting, confederate monument proposals, HOPE scholarship, Dekalb County Board of Education removal, cutting early voting days etc.) where Democrats in the House did not succeed or dropped the ball, in a large part because Abrams, as Minority Leader, did not want bad press or hard battles as a road block to her personal road map.

“If all goes as planned, the earliest Stacey Abrams would run for president is in 2028. Not 2020 — that’s too soon. Not 2024 — the Democrat who vanquishes President Trump in 2020 will be up for re-election. No, the first opportunity is 2028. That’s her year.”

Cosmopolitan November 27, 2017

As a black woman, I understand the dilemma as well as the propensity of many African American voters.  Is the historic nature of #blackgirlmagic in the Governor’s mansion sufficient to make voters overlook that Abrams sees the Governor’s Mansion as a rest stop on her way to D.C.?  I’m willing to bet for many African American’s, whose number one goal when voting is breaking glass ceilings, Georgia being a platform to a bigger office makes Abrams more rather than less enticing.  However, for elected leaders who understand first hand how the political dealing for personal interest hurts more than it helps, they know it is not black history if ultimately it will hurt black people in the longterm.

There will be some tough battles being a Democrat Governor with a majority Republican House and Senate.  Do Democrats want a leader where every fight, every strategic move, every “compromise” is being made with Georgia and progressive principles as the priority?  Or will Georgians accept a leader that has their primary question on all important decisions “does this fit on my timeline to the White House”?

At the end of the day, even a Democratic Governor with a personal agenda would be better than the policies of any of the current Republican candidates.  However, for those voters still trying to decide – it’s an easy question, does your candidate have Georgia or Washington D.C. on her mind?

[1] https://www.ajc.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/ajc-poll-points-wide-open-democratic-race-for-governor/pLFgugsSPRieY91FxO3PGJ/

[2] http://www.politifact.com/georgia/statements/2017/jul/14/stacey-evans/did-stacey-evans-help-win-one-biggest-private-laws/

[3] https://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a13761355/stacey-abrams-georgia-governor-candidate-interview/

[4] Evans Endorsement List – https://staceyevans.com/endorsements/

[5] Abrams Endorsement List – https://staceyabrams.com/support/