Once Brian Kemp pulled out of tonight's scheduled debate, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams promised she would find a way to answer voters' questions anyway.
What resulted was a "virtual town hall" held at the same time the debate would have occurred, a one-side conversation that allowed Abrams to stick to her usual talking points.
She fielded eight questions over the course of 30 minutes. The closest she got to the biggest controversy of the day -- Kemp's accusations that the state Democratic Party tried to hack the voter system -- was breaking down her history of accusing him of voter suppression.
She spoke about winning a 2016 lawsuit against Kemp, in his role as Secretary of State, regarding the “exact match” system for registering voters. She said more recent lawsuits filed by other groups also accused him of trying to rig the system to keep certain voters of the rolls.
“We know that process was designed to distract us from the reality that change is at stake,” she said, adding that electing her could reverse those policies. “We have the ability to make what’s wrong right.
Abrams also talked about Medicaid expansion being her first priority if elected governor, her support for tax credits for the film industry, gun control, her plans to help veterans and rural school districts, criminal justice reform and why she supports making medical marijuana more accessible in Georgia. She also said she was “happy to have the conversation” later about also decriminalizing recreational marijuana.
In her closing statements, Abrams encouraged supporters to sign up to volunteer to help get out the vote on Monday and Tuesday. And she talked about a win on Election Day having far-reaching implications.
“If we win, we win forever,” she said. “We win for all of us. Because when we make change in Georgia, we change the South. And when we change the South, we change America.”
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