Stacey Abrams had hardly arrived on stage when late-night host Seth Meyers hit her with a question about why her campaign strategy focused on energizing liberal voters rather than trying to flip Donald Trump supporters.
Her response, to laughs, was simple: “Math.”
While Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Secretary of State Brian Kemp scrap ahead of the July 24 GOP runoff, Abrams has leveraged the drawn-out process to raise campaign cash and raise her profile. Last week, that involved a sit-down with Meyers on the NBC program.
“You’ve had candidates who pretend to be something they’re not, trying to convince those who do not agree with them that somehow, this time it’s real,” said Abrams.
“My approach is, every Democratic voter we can get – especially those who don’t think their voices matter or independent thinkers who realize they’re heading down the wrong path if they don’t vote for a Democrat this time,” she added. “There are enough of us to win an election.”
Abrams is trying to make the most of the nine-week runoff, the result of a judge's decision that has both Republicans grumbling. As the GOP candidates snipe at each other over policy and politics, Abrams has tooled her message around public school education, bolstering the economy and expanding Medicaid.
And after her whopping primary win, she's tried to consolidate her party by winning over her former rival's highest profile supporters. At the same time, she's earned the endorsements of 2020 Democratic presidential prospects who seem likely to campaign for her as November nears.
At Tuesday's appearance on Meyers' show, she talked about her get-out-the-vote efforts, her background as a romance novelist how her personal debt figures into her campaign. And, ribbed by Meyers, she poked fun at Kemp for an ad pointing a gun toward a young actor.
"What I would say, as someone who learned how to shoot when I was growing up in Mississippi, the first thing you learn is, 'You don't do that,'" she said, pointing at a freeze-frame of Kemp and the actor. "That Firearm 101 is don't point at people. Because Firearm 102 is 'You go to prison.'"
She added: “It’s an interesting approach to try to convince people that they can trust you with their lives.”
Watch the full clip here:
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