Abrams in Georgia Policy Speech Goes After Kemp’s Rural Base

Stacey Abrams, whose aspirations to the Georgia governor’s mansion and beyond have gained national attention, laid out her plans Tuesday night to boost the state’s economy without raising taxes.

She targeted her opponent Brian Kemp’s base voters—those in rural areas—with proposals specifically tailored to their needs. They include more support for small businesses, a Medicaid expansion allowing rural hospitals to reopen, and a promise to deliver free technical education.

One way she hopes to pay for this is legalized sports betting and casino gambling in Georgia.

She’s not betting the entire program on that. Expanding Medicaid for the first three years costs the state nothing, said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, and after that, only about 10 percent.

That influx of money—$3.5 billion a year—will prop up shaky small-town hospitals, allow closed ones to open, and restore health care access to areas where hospitals are currently few and far between, Abrams said.

She excoriated Kemp repeatedly for the weaknesses she cited in the state’s economy, including refusing to spend money the federal government granted the states and instead wanting to use it for tax rebates.

Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp speaks at the new Mason Mega Rail Terminal at the port in Savannah, Georgia, on Nov. 12, 2021. (Jackson Elliott/The Epoch Times)

Abrams repeatedly used the word “extreme” to describe Kemp’s tenure in office and warned of the dire consequences the state’s tough abortion laws and permissive gun laws will have in encouraging businesses here to leave the state and discourage others from coming here at all.

Hot-Button Issues

Abrams didn’t hesitate to touch on hot-button issues that have nothing to do with the economy, like the Florida shooting of Trayvon Martin and the Jim Crow laws of the South’s past.

She proposed raises averaging