Digital Daily

Abrams, Kemp Renew Rivalry in Heated Gubernatorial Debate

  • Roz Edward
The Georgia gubernatorial debate at the Atlanta Press Club on Monday night delivered much of what Georgians hoped for from the frontrunners Gov. Brain Kemp and opponent Stacey Abrams along with some relative relief from the sometimes vitriolic exchanges between the candidates provided by Libertarian candidate Shane Hazel.
 
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.
 
Hazel in his first statement of the debate introduced the issue of Cannabis legalization in Georgia and voiced his support for at least decriminalization for medical use. Kemp countered that marijuana is still illegal and touted his administrations lockdown on drug use and the increase in drug busts, to which Hazel replied, “it’s just a plant.”                                                                                                               
 
In the meantime, Abrams continued to focus on the right-to-vote efforts she and her campaign have been ardently pursuing and highlighting voter suppression measures undertaken by the current administration while Kemp relentlessly honed in on his record for keeping Georgia open during the pandemic.                                                                                                                                           
 
Abrams scored a hit against the incumbent early on calling the Kemp administration’s Elections Integrity Act “as suppressive as Jim Crow,” adding that it should be “easy to vote and hard to cheat.”                                                                                                                       
 
Abrams made another dig at the governor’s record of performance noting that the closure of the Atlanta Medical Center Hospital leaves only one Level 1 trauma center in Atlanta. Another 19 hospitals are at risk of closure according to the candidate.

In a twist for debate practices, candidates were permitted to directly question each other during a period of the program.

As Kemp attacked Abrams and implied that she was anti-law enforcement, Abrams struck back with a personal account to explain her position on eliminating cash bail and defunding police departments. “I have two brothers – one who has committed crimes and one who is a driving while black victim,” adding that transparency and transformation were needed to improve the legal system.

In what appeared to be a relatively low blow, Kemp referred to Abrams as “upset and just mad,” getting a little too close to the mad Black woman stereotype too often imposed on Black women.

 Libertarian candidate Hazel changed the tone of the diatribe in the debate as he shared his thoughts on the purchase of Georgia farms by Chinese investors.  

“Agriculture is Georgia’s number one industry,” Abrams pointed out adding that the governor had essentially allowed the state to get in bed with the Communist Party and pointed out the security risks as Georgia is home to 13 military installations.

From start to finish Kemp repeatedly bragged about his decision to lift pandemic restrictions against the advice of public health officials, arguing that it strengthened Georgia’s economy while other states faltered. But as the candidates engaged in a heated exchange on the crime issue, Kemp attempted to press Abrams to name law enforcement organizations endorsing her campaign. Abrams reminded the governor that crime had risen to near unprecedented levels under his leadership, adding “we have a governor who’s weakened gun laws across our [state], flooded our streets with guns by letting dangerous people get access to the weapons.”

 

About Post Author

Roz Edward

See author's posts

From the Web

X
Skip to content