For left-wing Democrats, Stacey Abrams, who is making her second run for Georgia’s governor, is a superstar: a nationally recognized suffrage champion, a symbol of her state’s shifting demographics, and a political visionary who registered and mobilized tens of thousands of new voters — the kind people’s organization that progressives have long preached.
“I don’t think anyone can call Stacey Abrams a moderate,” said Aimee Allison, the founder of She the People, a progressive advocacy group for women of color.
Moderates would beg to differ. They see Ms. Abrams as an ally for rejecting left-wing policies that the center-left Democrats have rejected, such as “Medicare for all,” the Green New Deal to fight climate change, and funding law enforcement in response to police brutality.
“I don’t know if anyone in the party can say, ‘She’s one of us,'” said Matt Bennett, one of the founders of Third Way, the center-left group. “We can’t pretend she’s a moderate,” he added. “But the progressives can’t say she’s progressive and not moderate. We’re both kind of right.”
The question of how to define Ms Abrams, 48, the presumed Democratic flag bearer in one of the most high-profile races of 2022, is taking on a new urgency amid the party’s current landscape.
Moderates and progressives spar in Washington throughout 2021, frustrating a White House struggling to reach consensus on its priorities and continuing an ideological debate that has raged in the party for years. There is also a thirst for new blood in the party, given the advanced age of President Biden, congressional leaders and prominent progressives such as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.
At the local level, whether Ms. Abrams remains credible with both Democratic wings may determine how well she can withstand Republican attacks. Those close to her campaign say they expect an extremely close race, and the key is to hold on to the moderate suburbs that supported her in 2018, while enthusing the new Georgian voters who have emerged since those elections. have registered.
Republicans in Georgia — who are waiting for Ms. Abrams in the general election — are eager to denounce her as a left-wing radical who is out of place in a state that was a GOP stronghold until it narrowly fell into the Democratic column in 2020 . Gov. Brian Kemp, who in May faces a fierce primary challenge from former Senator David Perdue, who has the backing of former President Donald J. Trump, has released five digital ads attacking Ms. Abrams since announcing her campaign on Dec. 1.
“Stacey Abrams’ far-left agenda has no place in Georgia,” one ominously warns.
But a review of Ms. Abrams’s policy statements and television ads, and interviews with political figures who have known her for years, reveal a leader who has carefully calibrated her views and made sure she doesn’t stray in one democratic way or the other.
Her allies say the fluidity is an asset, stressing how policy is just one way voters choose which candidate to support. Racial representation and the unique political context of the American South are also factors that determine whether a candidate can credibly claim progressive bona fides, they argue.
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Steve Phillips, an early supporter and prominent progressive Democratic donor, said Ms. Abrams’ political strategy was progressive, even if her policy positions were more moderate.
“It’s hard for white progressives to be too critical of someone so strong and fiercely unashamedly black and feminine,” he said. “Its authenticity comes from the sectors that are at the heart of its progressive base.”
Ms Abrams’ approach involves risks. In the primaries of the 2020 Democratic presidential election, several candidates trying to cross the line between moderate and progressive policies lost the confidence of a significant number of voters in both camps, while activists pushed for firm commitments on issues such as health care, climate change, expansion of the Supreme Court and Reparations for Descendants of Enslaved People.
At times, Ms. Abrams has used her position to speak out against progressive causes and defend the Democratic establishment. She said attempts to relieve police departments after George Floyd’s murder created a “false choice” and said the departments should be reformed instead.
On the health front, she’s focused on expanding Medicaid rather than supporting a single-payer system. And in 2020, a think tank founded by Ms. Abrams released a climate plan that focused on the South and embraced efforts to boost renewable energy, but stopped short of the ambitious goals promoted by progressive activists and lawmakers such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio. -Cortez from New York.
But Ben Jealous, a former Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland who leads the progressive group People for the American Way, said progressives should trust Ms. Abrams just as much. “The Green New Deal is designed for the industrialized, union-free north,” he said. ‘And you have to translate that in the South.’ He added: “She does that.”
Several of Mrs. Abrams welcomed an examination of her track record, arguing that characterizing her as progressive only fueled Republican attacks.
Ms. Abrams declined to be interviewed for this article. Asked about how she defined herself ideologically, a spokesperson, Seth Bringman, said she “defines herself by her values and her ability to deliver results for the common good by navigating disparate groups and ideologies.”
“She is a staunch supporter of unions and has worked with anti-union companies to end discrimination against the LGBTQ community,” he added. She is unashamedly pro-choice, and she coordinated with anti-choice lawmakers to push through criminal justice reform. She is a capitalist who supports regulation and believes we can fight poverty while praising success.”
Such pragmatism has encouraged some moderates — including Georgians who served with Ms. Abrams in the State Capitol — to compare her to other center-left national figures who had credibility at the grassroots, such as Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Mr Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way, said Ms Abrams had shown she would “be pushed by no one in the party, from the center or the left.”
He added: “That independence has made her a very viable candidate.”
Carolyn Hugley, a Georgia state representative who has known Ms Abrams since 2011, said she had always tried to be seen as a “doer” and an organizer. As a minority leader, Ms. Abrams, a budget frenzy, joins Tea Party members and some religious groups to oppose a Republican tax reform bill.
“If you had asked me ten years ago if voting rights were what she would be known for, I would probably say no,” Ms Hugley said.
In Georgia, Mrs. Abrams known for her willingness to work with anyone, even if it led to backlash. In 2011, she lent bipartisan credibility to an effort by Republican Governor Nathan Deal to restructure the state scholarship program for low-income students. Several Democrats criticized her decision to stand next to him at a news conference, saying it was a gift to a sitting party that had tried to downsize the program and exemplifies Ms. Abrams putting her own ambitions above long-term interests. of the party.
“It was misinterpreted,” said DuBose Porter, former president of the Georgia Democratic Party. “But the real Stacey Abrams will always come through. And that real Stacey Abrams is someone who cares about the problems.”
Mr. Jealous, of People for the American Way, said he recalled Ms. Abrams encouraging him to reach out to Newt Gingrich, the Georgian Republican and former Speaker of Parliament, to build aisle support for state prison reform. .
This campaign cycle is even admitting Ms Abrams’ supporters that the increasing spotlight could re-test her political talent. The prospect of becoming the first black woman in the country to be elected governor has already rekindled her potential presidential ambitions.
Unlike in 2018, when Ms. Abrams was not yet a national figure, or during Mr. Biden’s vice presidential quest in which she was considered a contender, she is entering the 2022 race as a big name on the Democratic roster. — and a prime target for Republicans.
The Virginia governor’s race offered a taste of what Ms. Abrams could happen, with Democrats on the defensive and Republicans criticizing them over Mr Biden’s vaccine mandates, how schools teach about racism and the removal of Confederate statues.
Ms. Abrams rallied Virginia Democrats behind Democratic candidate, former Governor Terry McAuliffe, in the days leading up to the election — a testament to her position in the party. In contrast, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said she and other progressives were told to stay away.
When she announced her candidacy in December, Ms. Abrams stuck with local themes and highlighted her work during the pandemic and her efforts to expand access to Medicaid in Georgia. In the 2018 governor’s race, she did not place an ad about race or voting rights, according to a list her aides had provided.
Last month, at an online campaign event with more than 350 supporters on the theme of “One Georgia,” Ms. Abrams steered clear of policy-specific and hot-button cultural conversations, focusing instead on issues such as the coronavirus and education – and on its Republican opponents.
“When people ask what the biggest difference is between me and the current governor, it’s that I love Georgians,” Ms Abrams said. “I like them all. Those who agree with me and those who don’t.”
As much as Democrats would like to label her, Mr. Jealous advised her against it, citing two lessons he learned about Ms. Abrams when they first met as 19-year-old college activists. The first: she wouldn’t be forced to go somewhere she didn’t feel comfortable with. The second: “Never speak after her,” he said.
Mr Phillips, the Democratic donor, said he was confident the war between moderates and progressives would not affect Ms Abrams in 2022.
When would it matter?
“If and when she becomes president,” he said.
