ATLANTA — Almost as soon as gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams called Georgia the "worst state in the country to live," the Democrat's campaign expected the remark to be the center of new GOP attacks. Gov. Brian Kemp's first TV ad of the general election cycle does exactly that.
"Bless her heart. Georgia leads the nation because Brian Kemp is the governor," said the narrator of the ad, which plays Abrams' remarks multiple times. It closes with a declaration that "Brian Kemp's kept Georgia the best place to live."
The 30-second spot, backed by a six-figure ad buy, highlights Abrams' speech to Gwinnett Democrats last month that referred to Georgia's poor rankings in health indicators and incarceration rates.
"I am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live," said the Democrat, who was showered with extended applause from a crowd of hundreds.
Abrams immediately tried to "contextualize" her remarks by pointing to declining wages and the state's high maternal mortality rates. Days later, she called her comments "inelegant" but her sentiment true.
"Brian Kemp is a failed governor who doesn't care about the people of Georgia," she said. "If you look at his record, if you look at the results under his four years of leadership, there has been failure after failure."
The governor and his allies quickly used the clip to further their effort to paint her as a wannabe Washingtonian eager to use Georgians as a steppingstone to higher office.
"Stacey Abrams may have missed this while courting liberal billionaires in New York and California," said Kemp spokesman Tate Mitchell, "but Georgia is the best place in the country to live, work, and raise a family — and Governor Kemp is fighting to keep it that way."
