Why aren’t we talking about Stacey Abrams for President?
Because we should. She can win.
Let’s start with what we already know: Abrams electrified the electorate of Georgia and made the entire nation take notice of Georgia’s potential to be a blue state. Abrams had, perhaps, the best State of the Union response in recent memory. She’s known from coast-to-coast as a fearless fighter for progressive issues and the right to be heard.
Here’s what you don’t know: That SOTU response? It had watch parties not just in Georgia or in DC, but across the nation. In Iowa, in New Hampshire, In California. Her PAC, FairFight has changed from a state organization to a national one. Abrams IS national. She’s being urged to run not for Senate, but for President, and she seems to be listening. Here’s her campaign manager on Twitter:
You know what else? Of all the people considering running, she’s ahead of nearly ALL of them and the fifth choice among all the candidates. AND NOBODY IS EVEN TALKING ABOUT HER.
This is from Bold Blue Campaigns, a Democratic pollster:
When asked to state which declared or potential Democratic Presidential candidate they would vote for if the 2020 Primary in their state was held today 48% were undecided. The top vote getter was Joe Biden at 12%, followed by Kamala Harris at 11%.
Rounding out the top 5 were Bernie Sanders (9%), Beto O’Rourke (7%), and Stacey Abrams (5%). Abrams was included in the poll after her national response to President Trump’s State of the Union Address on behalf of the Democratic Party (which 58% of the poll respondents watched). The only other candidates in the field to poll above 1% were Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand at 3% each, and Amy Klobuchar and Sherrod Brown at 1% each.
And it gets even better for Abrams. You ever been to an Iowa caucus site? Caucus goers tend to be whiter and older than the state overall. But this year the Iowa Democratic Party has changed the rules: You can vote from home, online. They offer Ranked Choice Voting. It’s a very different game. And it’s a game that Abrams could crush. She is the only one of the Presidential contenders that has run a hyper-targeted heavily digital campaign. She’s the only one who has run a strong canvass program. She leads the entire field in support among young people 18-29 (in the same poll). Those are exactly the people who haven’t been a part of Iowa Caucuses previously (except maaaaybe for Bernie) but who can now vote from home.
So why aren’t people talking about Abrams?
Maybe because they think she’s going to eventually run for Senate, nothing stops her from dropping down to run for Senate against David Perdue after Iowa (or New Hampshire or even South Carolina) if the results aren’t what she wants.
Super Tuesday is the South plus California, and the South is fired up for Abrams. If she can get through Iowa and New Hampshire, this is a path to victory. People are talking about whether she will run for Senate. They need to be talking about so much more.
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i mean, i guess trump being elected has changed the definition of whose “qualified” to be president but at least the other failed statewide candidate from 2018 was a member of congress for a few years…the a team should be all over this race for dems, and they are…but i’m not sure it makes sense for them to share the stage with a college town mayor, a state senator that lost a congressional race, a state rep that lost a gubernatorial race, and a former congressman that losta senate race…it’s just odd
The definition of who is “qualified” to be President has never changed. Social media has lowered the barriers to entry. In other words, it’s now easier to build a network of donors and supporters, develop name recognition, and create a platform for launching a Presidential campaign. Abrams, O’Rourke, Buttigeg are people with interesting things to say and worthwhile ideas. I’d note they all appear to be better suited to the job of President than the current occupant of the White House.
maybe social media is the difference…it’s a bit of a hobby of mine to look at the the resumes of hopeful and potential candidates and running mates, of both current and historical races…this is legitimately a crazy fun subject for me…larry agran is one of my favorite all time candidates, who was polling pretty well in nh but ended up fading after being shut out of the process by the party and mainstream media…i’m curious what his race would have looked like in this day and age…
2020 (so far)
9 Democrats – 5 Senators, 2 Representatives, 1 mayor, 1 former Cabinet secretary
2016
17 Republicans – 9 Governors, 5 Senators, 0 Representatives, 1 businesswoman, 1 neurosurgeon, 1 reality TV show character
5 Democrats – 3 Senators, 2 Governors
2012
10 Republicans – 5 governors, 1 Senator, 3 Representatives, 1 businessman
2008
12 Republicans – 4 governors, 3 Senators, 3 Representatives, 1 mayor, 1 former government official
8 Democrats – 6 Senators, 1 governor, 1 Representative
2004
10 Democrats – 5 Senators, 1 Governor, 2 Representatives, 1 Civil Rights activist, 1 general
2000
13 Republicans – 4 Senators, 2 governors, 1 Representative, 1 former Cabinet secretary, 2 “businessmen,” and 2 former government officials, 1 former presidential adviser
2 Democrats – 2 Senators
1996
11 Republicans – 4 Senators, 2 governors, 1 Representative, 2 former government officials, 1 businessman, 1 former presidential adviser
1992
7 Democrats – 4 Senators, 3 governors
Looking at the field of potential Democrats still to announce, I see a few Congressmen (O’Rourke, Moulton, Ryan, Swalwell), a couple of governors (Inslee, McAuliffe) a few more senators (Bennet, Brown, Merkley, Sanders), a former Vice President and Senator (Biden), a mayor (Bloomberg) and a former Attorney General (Holder)
Outside of Buttigeg and Abrams, there isn’t anyone on any of these lists that doesn’t fit the typical profile of a major party candidate for President. Even if Abrams doesn’t fit that profile, why shouldn’t she kick the tires. If a certified dolt like Herman Cain can run for President, why not someone with an actual whiff of intellect?
i’m not saying she shouldn’t “kick the tires” i’m just saying that now that someone like trump who didn’t fit the traditional profile has been elected…i wonder if these potential non traditional candidates will thrive as well, or will the opposite occur and the electorate be very wary of a candidate that wasn’t a senator or a general, or governor previously…again as someone who enjoys the “horserace” i love it when a steve forbes actually wins a primary or an al sharpton is on the debate stage with everyone else…
That’ll certainly be interesting to watch.
I hesitate to call her non-traditional. While she hasn’t served outside a state legislature, she’s had more time in public office as Barack Obama did when he launched his 2008 campaign. Granted, Obama had at least a few months in the Senate before he declared, but still.
Also, “lawyer” isn’t really a non-traditional profession for a President. After all, that’s what 27 of our 45 Presidents have done.
Not only that, she’s a graduate from Yale Law School, alma mater of Presidents Bill Clinton and Gerald Ford. Cory Booker and Michael Bennet are both Yale Law alumni as are Hillary Clinton, Gary Hart, Joe Lieberman, Arlen Specter, Paul Tsongas, Jerry Brown, Sargent Shriver, and more.
Winning and losing are relative to time, place, and circumstances. And attitude.
She’s also a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Salzburg/Freeman Fellow on U.S.-East Asian Relations, and Yukos Fellow for U.S. – Russian Relations, and she is on the Board of Directors for Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
So she’s got quite a bit of national and international connections and expertise.
I hope she does jump in there. It will prove to be excellent entertaining race to see who becomes the Season 10 Dem Survivor Winner. If somehow she was to win would that make her Kemp’s Boss?
Neither Abrams or Beto. Never again with a candidate that hasn’t run a state or represented a state.
“Abrams electrified the electorate of Georgia” in part as a result of massive campaign contributions coming into Georgia from other places. This was not without precedent; consider the 6th district race in 2017. But money and social media is going to get you only so far. And, if you’re elected, you then are faced with representing all of the citizens. Being a governor is good on-the-job experience for being President. Being a lawyer is good, too, for better or worse.
I’m sure this doesn’t help, Just saying…
https://www.wsbradio.com/news/state–regional-govt–politics/abrams-nonprofit-faces-new-liens-she-calls-them-contractor-error/n75bPFgPSRB2PKuLonyrXJ/
Yeah. From a business perspective, one of the worst things you can do is get behind on your 941’s and State W/H payments. After all, it is not really your money in the first place; you withheld it from employee’s paychecks at the direction of government. And when the penalties and interest kick in, you’ve dug a hole that is very hard to get out of. Especially if you are having cash flow problems (which is why a lot of firms put off filing their W/H payments in the first place).
It is popular to put the blame on subcontractors, but ultimately, it is your responsibility to make sure that things have been properly handled. Your signature is at the bottom of those W/H reports. And, unless the payroll service is operating out of the back of a gas station, I’m guessing that their reports are accurate. Keeping track of payroll and the subsequent taxes is, after all, why they do what they do.
This is a “state of mind” kind of matter. The politicians can really spend the money, but not all of them understand where that money comes from.