Democrats Making Headway in Georgia

The race for governor in Georgia has tightened with the Democratic and Republican candidates running neck and neck in the polls. Republicans, who have won every governor's election in the state since 2002, may see their luck run out in 2018. 

The tightness of the race could be due to a desire for Medicaid expansion in the State, shifting demographics, or an aversion to Trump.  Whatever the reason,  Georgia could be on the hills of electing its first African American woman governor.

Stacy Abrams, the African American Democratic nominee, has been running a race Georgians can be proud of.  She supports expanding Medicaid to help save rural hospitals and wants to lure jobs to isolated areas that have not benefited sufficiently from the economic recovery.  In addition, she favors criminal justice reform to help rehabilitate non-violent offenders and not throw away the key.

Abrams' focus on families has also captured the hearts of Georgians. In addition to Medicaid expansion, she intends to reach out to juvenile offenders with programs to help keep them off the streets. Abrams also plans to expand Pre-K, reduce welfare rolls by providing jobs in hard-hit areas, and chip away at the high school dropout rate, especially among African American boys and rural youth. She believes it will improve the family unit and lead to safer neighborhoods. 

But above all, the campaign represents a breath of fresh air for many voters or an alternative to the old boy network.  She speaks candidly about the issues and doesn't rely on business, as usual, to get things done.  She has worked across the aisle with the GOP to save scholarships for deserving youth and improve transportation in crucial areas. She is also a young woman who embodies the Twenty-First Century or the emerging new Georgia that is business/tech-savvy and cares nothing about the State's segregationist past.

Maybe with the backing from Georgians of all walks of life, she can defeat her Republican challenger, Brian Kemp, who is seen as a throwback to Georgia's ugly past.