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EXCLUSIVE: Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp argued Wednesday that a New York Times story published earlier in the day concerning Democrats’ fretting over the alleged struggles of Stacey Abrams’ campaign was a sign that the Democratic gubernatorial nominee is losing support from her party’s base.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Kemp suggested the unnamed Democrats in The Times story chose to remain anonymous because they were scared of being “canceled,” and that Abrams’ status as a leader of her party was starting to “fracture.”
“I think it’s because she’s been spending so much time out of the state over the last, really, three years. I mean, she’s built all these bridges that she’s got from high-wealth people out in California, and up in New York, and in Washington, D.C., and she’s raising literally millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars from those folks,” Kemp said when asked about those Democrats expressing alarm over the state of the Georgia governor race.
“It’s easy pickings for her, but they don’t have our values. They don’t share the values that Georgians share, and I think she’s kind of lost touch with that, and I think her base is realizing that,” he added.
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Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams (L) and incumbent Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R)
(Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg, Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
According to The Times, Democrats in Georgia have grown “increasingly pessimistic” about Abrams’ chances of defeating Kemp, citing “her struggles to rally key parts of her party’s coalition and her inability to appeal to a slice of moderate Republican voters who can decide the state’s elections,” as shown comparing her polling to a fellow Democrat running for re-election in the state, Sen. Raphael Warnock.
More than two dozen Democratic officials reportedly spoke to The Times, but asked to remain anonymous as they shared that multiple Democrat county officials and community leaders had privately expressed their concern to Abrams’ campaign that it was underestimating Kemp’s strength and hadn’t reached out to key constituencies.
“I guess they don’t want to get canceled or get pressured, I mean that’s what Stacey Abrams is known for,” Kemp said when asked why he thought those concerned Democrats wished to remain anonymous.
“She did that with Major League Baseball when we passed the Election Integrity Act and got them to move the all-star game, she’s done it to corporate CEOs,” he added, referencing the MLB’s decision to move the all-star game from Atlanta after the state passed a law aimed at combating voter fraud. Abrams had rallied Democrats nationwide against the bill, calling it an attempt at voter suppression and labeling it “Jim Crow 2.0.”
Stacey Abrams, Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, during a “One Georgia Tour” campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia on Monday, March 14, 2022.
(Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“I think people, quite honestly, are worried about her calling them out or taking retribution because she has, in some ways, been the leader of the party. But I think that’s starting to fracture now,” Kemp said.
He went on to predict that nontraditional Republican voters would look at his record on the economy, specifically keeping it open throughout the coronavirus pandemic, and would opt to support him over Abrams, whom he said stood with those seeking to keep schools and businesses closed.
“I think those voters are looking for another option. They’re looking for somebody that’s fought for them over the last two or three years. And they’ve seen that in myself, whether it’s standing up and doing something about violent crime and street racing, and supporting men and women in law enforcement versus her view and ideas and her own words of wanting to defund the police,” Kemp said.
“I just don’t think, even for a lot of African Americans and minority voters in our state, that’s not where they are, and I think she’s lost touch with that,” he added.
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during his primary night election party at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame on May 24, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia.
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital’s Power Rankings rate Georgia’s gubernatorial election as a “toss up.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Abrams’ campaign for comment on The New York Times story but did not receive an immediate response.
