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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams, the Democrat he narrowly defeated in 2018 and who will challenge him again in 2022, have been preparing for a rematch for the past four years.
Monday night’s debate in Atlanta, the only time during this year’s Georgia gubernatorial campaign that candidates should appear onstage together, was a testament to the political animosity the two had toward one another. Both Mr. Kemp and Ms. Abrams were familiar with each other’s records — Ms. Abrams on Mr. Kemp’s tenure as governor (and before that as secretary of state and state senator) and Mr. Kemp largely on the statements made by Ms. Abrams as a candidate and as the primary political organizer of Georgia’s Democrats.
The debate, which also included Shane Hazel, a low-poll Libertarian candidate, was a substantive hour that allowed Mr. Kemp and Ms. Abrams to highlight the stark differences between them. Few undecided voters watching would be confused as to how either would attempt to govern.
Each candidate got through the debate without making any major mistakes, although Ms Abrams apologized at one point for “my outburst” after interrupting Mr Kemp.
Here are five key takeaways from the debate:
President Biden made things uncomfortable for everyone.
Republicans across the country portray President Biden’s America as a hellscape of inflation and crime, which only conservative politics can save. But not in Georgia.
Mr. Kemp, after nearly four years of leadership, described his state as a place with a thriving economy, new businesses springing up and fully-resourced law enforcement agencies adept at dealing with local crime.
Democrats everywhere else are arguing that things are pretty good right now. Trillions of dollars in new federal spending kept the economy afloat and helps keep people employed. But not in Georgia.
Ms Abrams went through a long list of local ills that she attributed to Mr Kemp, including rising crime, rising house prices and the Chinese government’s buyout of large swathes of the state’s agricultural land.
“We live in a state of fear,” she said. “And this is a governor who has put in a lot of effort over the last four years but has done very little for most Georgians.”
For any candidate, taking the opposite course of their national party involves some risk. Mr. Kemp’s approach that the sunny days are here is at odds with the message Republican voters are hearing in their isolated media environment. But Ms Abrams, who is trailing in the polls, rules out any help from Mr Biden or the National Democrats, assuring voters that things are terrible.
Ms. Abrams was willing to speak about race.
Ms. Abrams would be a state’s first black woman governor if elected, and she hasn’t shied away from speaking out about the role race plays in Georgia’s politics. At the beginning of the debate, an exchange on crime and policing gave her the opportunity to highlight this dynamic.
Since she advocated police reform at the height of police brutality protests in the summer of 2020, Mr Kemp has made it a point to tie Ms Abrams to the movement to cut police funding. In the second round of the debate, in which the candidates can ask each other questions, he asked them how many members of Georgia law enforcement had supported their campaign. She responded by suggesting that Mr Kemp’s support came from long-established centers of power in the state.
“I don’t have the luxury of being part of a good old boys’ club where we don’t focus on the needs of our people,” Ms. Abrams replied, alluding to the state’s history of voting white men.
She has used similar language in recent commercials, including an ad airing today in Georgia about what she would do with the state’s $5 billion budget surplus. “I’ll never be part of the old boys club, but that’s okay,” she says.
Mr Kemp would like to speak about the pandemic.
It almost didn’t matter what the question was — Mr. Kemp tried to reply that he had reopened Georgia’s businesses and schools in 2020 earlier than any other state.
When asked about racial disparities, the local economy, Medicaid expansion or what to do when the state budget is in surplus, Mr. Kemp reminded viewers that he rushed to open up the state’s economy before federal health experts — and even then President Donald J. Trump — thought it prudent.
Mr Kemp said Georgia was the first state to reopen the “small parts” of the state that had been closed during the pandemic. “Our recovery went as well as any other state in the country. Due to our business environment and cooperation with the General Assembly, we have had two record years of economic development to ensure that we put Georgians first and Georgian companies and Georgian workers first.”
For Mr. Kemp, this tactic served a dual purpose. It allowed him to attack Ms Abrams for preaching caution that is now out of step with an electorate largely stretching beyond pandemic boundaries, and it allowed him to remind those elements of his political base still loyal to Mr Trump that he, Mr Kemp, was the one who most agreed with them on what to do in response to Covid.
Mr Kemp and Ms Abrams really disagree on gun policy.
In a debate mostly about political discussions, a debate on firearms gave a clear insight into each candidate’s position.
Mr. Kemp signed legislation into law in 2022 allowing anyone in the state to carry a firearm without a license. Ms Abrams has made this law one of her biggest criticisms of the governor’s political agenda, saying it endangers Georgians and could lead to more mass shootings like that of 2021, when a gunman killed eight people while opening fire at several Asian spas in the Atlanta area. Mr Kemp defended the law, saying it helps vulnerable people defend themselves, including black Americans and women, two groups he named.
“The criminals are the only ones who have guns,” he argued, railing against “local governments withholding concealed weapons permits.”
He went on to argue that every person who bought a firearm was subjected to a federal background check — a point Ms. Abrams was quick to correct, interjecting that buying guns at private sales and gun shows didn’t require a background check. She later apologized to Mr Kemp for the interruption.
Yes, a libertarian named Shane Hazel is also running.
We’ve seen it before, we’ll see it again: a little-known contestant made a memorable appearance during a debate that revolved almost entirely around the others on stage.
Add Georgia’s Shane Hazel to a list that includes the “The rent is too high” guy and the time Jim Webb casually mentioned he killed someone.
Prior to his prime-time debut, Mr. Hazel was last seen in a 2018 Republican primary for a suburban Atlanta House seat with 28 percent. He spent his speaking time Monday calling on Georgia to adopt a purist libertarian philosophy: abolish public education, abolish virtually all police functions, legalize drugs and abolish property taxes. It was a performance that often confused Mr. Kemp and Ms. Abrams as he made references to “Austrian economy” that few unfamiliar with libertarian principles would understand.
Still, Mr. Hazel could play an outsized role in the election. According to Georgian law, a winner must receive at least 50 percent of the votes. If Mr Hazel gets enough votes from the two frontrunners – and, more plausibly, Mr Kemp – it could force them to a runoff in December and an extra month of campaigning. Should there then be a further debate, Mr Hazel will not be there.
