Stacey Abrams: Right All Along

She had a vision, and she went after it. We are grateful.

(Image by Jessica McGowan for Getty)

In 2018, Stacey Abrams watched as her remarkable, historic campaign for Governor of Georgia “lost” (was stolen) by fewer than 55,000 votes out of nearly 4 million cast to the man who was also serving at the time as the state’s chief elections official. Obvious to everyone was the blatant voter suppression and election fraud that occurred under his watch.

In the aftermath, while folks throughout the Democratic Party were urging her to run against David Perdue for his seat in the U.S. Senate in 2020, she had other ideas. Yes, she was certainly the natural choice to run against Perdue and the need was certainly there, but she saw a greater need and an unfinished job: fighting the voter suppression that would continue to be a problem for the people of Georgia if it weren’t addressed.

When she declined to run for the Senate, her decision was met with widespread skepticism. I recall many people being upset with her choice.

But Abrams had a vision, she knew what her state needed in this moment, and she followed through on it. In August of 2019, she founded Fair Fight Action, which has tirelessly worked to promote fair elections and mobilize voters with organizing and education in Georgia and many other states.

In November, her work paid off when Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential nominee to win Georgia in 28 years. After the dust settled through several counts—and despite the ongoing nonsense of the toddler in the White House attempting to overturn the win—Abrams had the honor of leading Electors in Georgia as the results were certified. It’s rather moving and worth a watch.

And tonight, it would certainly appear that Democrats are going to gain control of the U.S. Senate for the first time in six years as The Reverend Senator-elect Dr. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Senator-elect Jon Ossoff (D-GA) were able to claim victory, in no small part due to the incredible leadership of Stacey Abrams.

Mitch McConnell, who has willfully blocked hundreds of pieces of legislation passed by the Democratic House over the past two years, will now watch as Democrats unleash an avalanche of progressive legislation on everything from health care to gun reform to voting rights to LGBTQ equality.

President-elect Biden and Speaker Pelosi and soon-to-be Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have many people to thank: the staffers and volunteers on the Warnock and Ossoff campaigns, the organizers, the activists, the voters—overwhelmingly Black voters—who stayed in line to ensure a victorious result.

But above all, they owe a lot to a leader of leaders who had the courage to see her vision through and refused to let the naysayers distract her from the promise of fair, free elections in our country.

Whatever Stacey Abrams wants moving forward, make sure she has it. Let’s follow her lead.

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Hi, I’m Charlotte Clymer, and this is my Substack. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my writing, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription: just $7/month or save money with the $70/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $210.

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