ATLANTA — The decisive vote in Kansas to protect abortion rights was quickly embraced by Georgia Democrats as evidence that the backlash to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade could alter a midterm election climate that favors the GOP.
But perhaps no candidate on Georgia’s November ballot has leaned into that argument more than Stacey Abrams, who is working to energize new voters in a rematch against Gov. Brian Kemp that polls show is tilting slightly toward the incumbent.
Within the last week, she rolled out a biting new 30-second ad featuring women blasting Kemp for signing a newly enacted law that restricts abortion as early as six weeks, before most women know they’re pregnant.
She held an emotional roundtable discussion with women who had abortions or suffered miscarriages and are worried that others in similar situations could face legal scrutiny under the new law.
And her campaign issued a memo outlining why she expects deep-rooted opposition to Republican anti-abortion policies will help her expand her electoral coalition enough to defeat a powerful governor.
Abrams isn’t relying solely on abortion rights to fire up her supporters. She’s unveiled a host of education, fiscal and public safety policies, and plans a significant economic address on Tuesday.
But the Democrat is betting that the vote in reliably Republican Kansas offers the most compelling evidence yet that backlash to anti-abortion laws can reshape a race where she is considered the underdog.
“That’s what we should learn from Kansas. We can act. This is not done. It is cruel. It is the law,” Abrams said. “But that law can be overturned with the right governor, with the right legislators and with the people of Georgia standing up saying, ‘We want better.’”
‘Not what I’m hearing’
Her intensifying focus on abortion rights comes as the state’s top Republicans continue to tiptoe around the issue.
Kemp, who once boasted of signing the “toughest” anti-abortion law in the nation, now hardly brings up the issue at rallies around the state. At a stop in Toccoa, he was dismissive of warnings from Abrams that his support of abortion limits and pro-gun measures will cost Georgia business.
And he mocked attempts by Democratic governors to lure name-brand businesses, film projects and the Music Midtown festival, which officials say was scrapped this year over legal fallout of a 2014 firearms expansion.
“Have you checked the gas prices in those states lately?” Kemp quipped, referring to his recent decision to extend a state tax break on gas.
“I’m not too worried about people leaving Georgia and going to New Jersey or California. In fact, I think people are leaving those states and coming here because of our policies.”
And Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker downplayed the notion that Georgians upset with the anti-abortion ruling will rush to the polls, instead insisting that pocketbook issues will reign supreme in November.
“You’re going to bring up things that people are not concerned about. People are concerned about gas, they’re concerned about food,” he said at a farmer’s market in Alto. “They’re not even talking about that (abortion). That’s not what I’m hearing about.”
The constant repivot to economic issues reflects Republican hopes to turn the election into a referendum on inflation and high energy prices – and efforts to not remind voters of the anti-abortion stances they highlighted during primary battles.
In Walker’s case, he supports a total ban on abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. Kemp also has voiced support for banning abortion except when the life of the mother is at stake, though he’s also said he will focus on enforcing the 2019 law, which restricts most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
“Not everyone feels direct impacts on some of the cultural issues,” said Lori Duke McAvoy, a Republican volunteer who was among the first to arrive at a roadside diner in Toccoa where Kemp addressed dozens of supporters without focusing on abortion.
“But we all feel the effects of this economy. You know as well as I do that the GOP has divisions just like the other side,” she added, “but we can all unite behind pain felt at the grocery store or empathize with moms not finding baby food formula.”
‘Not on my watch’
Republican operatives and some advocates cautioned about reading too much into the impact of the Kansas vote, particularly with inflation and energy prices atop the list of voter concerns in polls conducted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and other outlets.
But Emory University political scientist Andra Gillespie said there is growing evidence that the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling that eliminated the constitutional right to abortion could become a uniquely motivating factor.
Historically, she said, voters who defined abortion as their top priority tended to vote for Republican candidates in favor of new restrictions. But the shakeup in the post-Roe legal landscape could upend that dynamic.
“The Dobbs decision appears to be on a trajectory that galvanizes Democratic voters and is creating what could look like a single issue, pro-abortion rights voter,” said Gillespie. “It’s becoming a galvanizing and mobilizing event.”
Indeed, the memo penned by Abrams’ campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo argued that independent voters not aligned with either party broke decisively in favor of protecting abortion rights in Kansas, along with a significant number of Republicans.
“Georgia is notably far more Democratic and progressive than Kansas,” she wrote.
With about three months until the election, Abrams is expected to hold more events like the one this week designed to highlight the deeply personal stories of women who received abortions or suffered miscarriages.
In the basement of her campaign headquarters in Decatur, Abrams was joined by a half-dozen other women who shared their experiences. Another 500 or so women with similar stories watched remotely, their faces broadcast on a wall.
Among the speakers was Democratic state Rep. Shea Roberts, who has made a point to share why she decided to receive an abortion 15 years ago to conservative outlets such as Fox News in hopes of giving Republicans a different view of the issue.
“I have no doubt in my mind it was the best decision for me, my family and my unborn child,” she said. “Now Brian Kemp and these extreme abortion bans are going to stop my daughters from making their best decisions for them and their families? Not on my watch.”
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