Tag: Georgia Republican Party

Stacey Abrams’s defeat in the Georgia governor’s race was only a few weeks old when she arrived in New York in December to meet with campaign donors and political allies. At a reception in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, a supporter asked her what she would do next. Democrats believe that by challenging Mr. Perdue in 2020, Ms. Abrams could help break the Republican Party’s near-monopoly on Southern power in the Senate, and perhaps help make Georgia competitive in the presidential race. Ms. Abrams remains undecided about running for the Senate, according to multiple people who have spoken with her directly. “And she is far from defeated.” DuBose Porter, a former Georgia Democratic Party chairman, said he believed Ms. Abrams was increasingly receptive to the idea of running for Senate, rather than waiting for a rematch with Mr. Kemp in 2022. Former Representative Jack Kingston, a Republican who sought the Senate seat in 2014 but lost in the primary, said he saw Mr. Perdue as a strong bet for re-election. Staying in the public eye, Ms. Abrams has been organizing “thank you” events with supporters around the state, and her group aired an ad about voting rights during the Super Bowl. Though Democrats have long sought to regain their footing in the South — coveting Senate seats in places like Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee — the urgency of that challenge has grown after the 2018 elections, when Democrats lost three Senate races in the rural Midwest even as they gained 40 seats in the House. “I think there’s a lot of people wanting Stacey Abrams to save the party by running for the Senate,” Mr. James said. “I would love to see her have a bigger stage,” Ms. Koziol said.