Abrams Rakes In Out-Of-State Cash Ahead of Big Fight For Georgia Governor’s Job

With the primaries behind them, Stacey Abrams and incumbent Brian Kemp can now focus on each other as their grudge rematch for Georgia governor intensifies.

They’ve got plenty of money to do it with, particularly Abrams. In less than two months after the May primary, her One Georgia campaign group raised more than $18 million.

Abrams’ treasury is filled with large contributions from progressive mega-donor George Soros and smaller ones from Hollywood celebrities like Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, Tom Hanks, and Bryan Cranston.

Kemp and his Georgians First group have raised $7.6 million to date.

Kemp’s campaign is reaching some big donors in Texas but doesn’t feature that kind of star power. He doesn’t need as much money, said political scientist Charles Bullock of the University of Georgia.

“An incumbent runs on his record,” Bullock said. “They sometimes run away from it, but Brian [Kemp] won’t do that. He’s quite pleased with his three-and-a-half years [in office].”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks at a news conference about the state’s Election Integrity Law in Marietta, Ga., on April 10, 2021. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Bullock said that challengers need a lot of money to get their message out. They don’t necessarily need to raise more than the incumbent, but the more they spend, the better they perform. “They need enough to make the incumbent the issue. They have to make some voters rethink their decision [to vote for him].”

How much money incumbents spend is inversely proportional to how well they’re doing, he said. If they’re doing well, they don’t have to spend as much. If they’re behind, they have to spend more to catch up.

Abrams’ fundraising is impressive but less than what some candidates are raising in other large governor races, according to state databases or nonprofit watchdog groups that

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