Stacey Evans' latest TV ad begins with an image of a small house in Ringgold, and an explanation from the Democratic candidate for governor on why the place is so heart-wrenching to her.
“This is one of the 16 homes I grew up in that I’d rather not remember. It’s where I called the police when a man my mom lived with was beating her,” she said, choking up. “They didn’t come. She worked 22 years at a truck stop, and I’m proud of her.”
It’s the second in a wave of ads the former state lawmaker has launched in her campaign for governor, and it evokes a painful chapter in her life that she has said helped inspire her to run for public office.
When she was 12, Evans called the police to report that her mother, Kim Godfrey, was being abused by a man she was dating. She said in an interview that the authorities dismissed her complaint, saying the man "wouldn't hurt a fly."
Evans’ mother has played a prominent role in her race for the Democratic nomination, a May 22 contest that pits the former state legislator against ex-Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Channel 2 poll released Thursday shows more than half of likely Democratic primary voters are undecided. Of those that have made up their minds, Abrams led Evans 33-15.
While most of the top GOP contenders launched TV ads weeks ago, the Democratic airwars are only now ramping up. Evans aired her first TV ad – a vow to "finish the job" with the HOPE scholarship – earlier this month. And Abrams debuted her initial TV spot over the weekend.
Evans closes her ad with a return to her primary policy proposal – a pledge to reverse cuts to the HOPE scholarship that she’s put at the center of her campaign.
“I’m Stacey Evans and the reason I’ll fight so hard as governor to fully restore HOPE scholarships and invest more in our public schools, apprenticeships and job training is because no matter what you aspire to, your governor should believe in you.”
See it for yourself here:
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