In Georgia Governor's Race, a Defining Moment for a Southern State

[DonViejo]

By Kevin Sack and Alan Blinder
July 28, 2018

ATLANTA — The Republican won the nomination Tuesday after branding himself a politically incorrect conservative who would “round up criminal illegals” and haul them to the border in his very own pickup. The Democrat all but opened her campaign by demanding that the iconic carvings of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson be sandblasted off Stone Mountain.

Almost overnight, Georgia’s captivating governor’s race between Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams has taken on the dimensions of a defining moment, one that will, regardless of outcome, determine what the state represents and how it is perceived. That voters chose these two candidates reflects how Americans are embracing politicians on the basis of culture and identity, and how Georgia’s politics are catching up with its rapid demographic change: The nonwhite population has grown to 40 percent from 29 percent since 1990. But Georgia’s political middle, long the dominant force behind the state’s thriving commerce and pragmatic leadership, suddenly finds itself all but abandoned.

More starkly than in most midterm campaigns, the contest between Mr. Kemp, the two-term Republican secretary of state, and Ms. Abrams, a former Democratic leader in the State Legislature, has come to mirror the disorienting polarization of the Trump era and expose the consequences of a primary system that increasingly rewards those who appeal to the fringes.

In Georgia, perhaps the Deep South’s most essential economy, the 2018 campaign is a point of demarcation. In the five decades since the death of legal segregation, the image-conscious state has been led by a succession of white male centrist governors — first moderate Democrats, then, for the last 16 years, right-leaning Republicans. They have more often than not been steady and bland, focused on improving education, corporate recruitment and job growth. The unemployment rate has declined by more than 6 percentage points since the current governor, Nathan Deal, took office in 2011.

But to date, neither Ms. Abrams nor Mr. Kemp has rushed to occupy that political space. With both candidates bolstered by huge wins in their primaries, there is no clear indication that either plans to abandon their base-driven strategies for a wholesale pivot toward the center. The race has come to be seen, in the words of Mr. Kemp at a Republican unity rally near Atlanta on Thursday night, as a battle for “literally the soul of our state.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/28/us/politics/georgia-governor-race.html

[bobbieinok]

1. Article is suspect. Starts with claim that Abrams has abandoned the middle.

Claims she, like GOP candidate, appeals to fringe. That she has no policy proposals, is only running on identity politics.

As a 78yo white woman, I find extremely insulting the article's not-so-subtle implication that no white person could support Abrams.

Note: I am not in GA, but grew up in OK in 40s and 50s and went to college in TX in 50s. Similar race and segregation environment, but probably not as viscious.

[greymattermom]

2. I'm in Georgia 6.

and there is a lot of support for Abrams and McBath. Support for business is a big issue, and Atlanta wants to stay on the Amazon list. Some of the anti policies that Kemp supports won't work with that. If either one wins, it's a historic change.

[kimbutgar]

3. Isn't there a thriving TV movie industry there in Georgia?

I hope the stars of those shows come out and support Abrams.

But I am concerned as Secretary of State kemp could rig the election in his favor. Too much conflict of interest. And Abrams and her campaign needs to speak out against him administrating the election.