Abrams Rakes In Out-of-State Cash for Georgia Gubernatorial Bid

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

The governor’s general election features a rematch of the 2018 election, in which Kemp narrowly defeated Abrams by about 1.5 percentage points. Current polling shows a tight race, with Kemp holding a small lead over Abrams.

They’ve got plenty of money for the campaign, particularly Abrams. Less than two months after the May primary, her One Georgia campaign group raised more than $18 million.

Abrams’s coffers are filled with large contributions from progressive megadonor George Soros and smaller ones from Hollywood celebrities such as 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 none who feature that kind of star power. Meanwhile, he doesn’t need as much money, University of Georgia political scientist Charles Bullock says.

“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