If a supporter of one campaign falsely accuses a rival campaign of spreading a false rumor, does that make said supporter guilty of spreading the false rumor? This is a dizzy incident that you may have to read a couple times to get the gist.
In the Democratic race for governor, Stacey Evans’ top aide has called for her rival, Stacey Abrams, to disavow a widely-shared column asserting that the Evans campaign started a false “whisper campaign” labeling Abrams as a lesbian.
The column, written by Abrams supporter Jason Johnson in The Root, cited a message from an unnamed operative about a run-in at a DeKalb County Democratic breakfast meeting with a "volunteer coordinator" from the Evans campaign and conversations with two black voters. So no names.
Evans’ campaign manager Seth Clark said no Evans staffers have attended a DeKalb breakfast, that the campaign doesn’t employ a “volunteer coordinator” and that Johnson never reached out to the Evans campaign for comment.
“These days politics in Washington is about dividing people for political advantage,” Clark said. “The Evans for Georgia campaign rejects those sorts of tactics.” Abrams’ campaign declined the Evans invitation to put any distance between itself and the article.
From Abrams campaign spokeswoman Priyanka Mantha:
"The Evans campaign continues to peddle distractions and old school whisper and deny tactics, but we are focused on speaking with voters in every part of the state about the fact that Stacey Abrams is the most qualified candidate for governor, with a clear vision for how we can help every Georgian succeed, not just survive."
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