Monday morning, Republican strategists affiliated with Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp, plus backing from former Senator Kelly Loeffler fired an opening salvo trained upon the 2022 Gubernatorial race by launching a group titled “Stop Stacey” as they seek to end Stacey Abrams’s second attempt at becoming Georgia governor. Abrams has not announced she would run for governor.
According to the group, they pledge to work to uncover what it calls the former gubernatorial candidate’s “shady voter groups that undermine election integrity”, “protect our future from Stacey Abrams, her left-wing backers, and their radical, anti-American agenda” and seeks to “unite and mobilize grassroots Republicans across the country.”
“We will do whatever it takes to expose Stacey Abrams’ radical network, highlight her dangerous agenda, and ultimately defeat her — and her left-wing candidates — at the ballot box,” the group’s senior strategist, Jeremy Brand, said in a statement. “There is no time to waste: We must stand up, fight back, and Stop Stacey.”
The formation of the Stop Stacey organization is a sign that the Georgia GOP, fraught with infighting after the 2020 Presidential Election, now must focus on an impending rematch of the 2018 gubernatorial race that saw Kemp declare victory by a 55,000 vote margin. Abrams did not concede.
After the 2018 loss to Kemp, Abrams would organize and support Democrats in their election efforts in 2020. Her organization, Fair Fight, would ultimately amass more than $100 million in contributions as she sought to register voters and drive turnout, particularly among Blacks and the Latinx community. Georgia ultimately swung to the Democrats for the first time in a Presidential election since 1992.
“Now, Stacey Abrams is trying to claim total control of America—which is why it’s so critical for Republicans across Georgia and across the country to have a dedicated, well-funded outside organization to stop her,” according to the statement provided by the Stop Stacey organization.
The Stop Stacey organization has raised more than $100,000 according to a FOX News report.
“Leader Abrams has made no decision about her political future, but here’s what I do know: GA Republicans failed on 11/3 & 1/5, with weak leaders, a disastrous COVID response, and families are suffering,” Lauren Groh-Wargo said in a tweet on Monday.
Already forecast as one of the most expensive gubernatorial races in American history, the Stop Stacey organization plans to deploy a “robust state and national fundraising operation” in order to target Abrams with opposition research, digital ads, and other paid media.
