This wasn't entirely unexpected. State Rep. Stacey Abrams, D-Atlanta, was campaign manager for Lisa Borders in her 2009 race for mayor of Atlanta, and such things aren't forgotten.

Even so, Mayor Kasim Reed’s news that he had a sit-down Thursday with state Rep. Stacey Evans of Smyrna, the sole rival to Abrams’ bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2018, is worth anyone’s attention.

“She has a powerful message,” the mayor says:

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com