Newsweek penned a flattering profile on Wednesday of failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and asked if she can save the Democrat Party again.
Newsweek contributor Steve Friess wrote the profile titled, “Can Stacey Abrams Save the Democrats—Again?” Throughout the lengthy piece, Friess praises Abrams as a “possible savior” for her work in registering new voters in us-regions to help President Biden and Democrats flip the state in 2020.
“Abrams, who famously turned a bitter loss in Georgia’s 2018 governor race into a powerful get-out-the-vote movement that helped deliver the White House and Congress to Democrats, is increasingly looking like a possible savior, although it’s far too early in the process to place safe bets,” Friess wrote.
NORFOLK, VA – OCTOBER 17: Former US Representative and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams speaks during a Souls to the Polls rally supporting Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe on October 17, 2021 in Norfolk, Virginia. Virginia will hold gubernatorial and local elections on November 2. (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)
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Abrams ran in 2018 and lost against Republican Brian Kemp. She lost by a margin of almost 60,000 votes but claims her loss was due to voter suppression and never formally conceded. Abrams continued her claim that the race was stolen from her when she campaigned for Democrat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia.
“You see, I’m here to tell you that just because you win doesn’t mean [you’ve] won,” Abrams said during an October rally. “I come from a state where I was not entitled to become the governor, but as an American citizen and as a citizen of Georgia, I’m going to fight for every person who has the right to vote to be able to cast that vote. And here in Virginia, you need to cast that vote for Terry McAuliffe!”
While Friess noted how independent fact-checkers concluded that voter suppression did not influence her loss, he later framed this as a “counternarrative” that is pushed by “GOP leaders.”
SELMA, AL – MARCH 01: Stacey Abrams speaks during the Martin & Coretta S. King Unity Breakfast on March 1, 2020 in Selma, Alabama. Presidential candidates and their supporters continue to campaign before voting starts on Super Tuesday, March 3. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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“Thus, a powerful counternarrative about the Abrams juggernaut emerges. Every time Abrams points to a problem, she’s swatted down by GOP leaders eager to tar her as an insincere sore loser exploiting anger to sell her books and speaking tour tickets,” Friess wrote.
Friess continued to lavish praise onto Abrams noting that her “cleverness is legendary” as a legislator and “as a gifted orator with an army of volunteers.” He also contended that for many of her supporters “nothing less than saving democracy” is at stake.
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“Either way, Abrams’ fight to ensure that the administration of American elections is not stacked against people of color, against Democrats—and, therefore, against her—goes on. And to many who are paying to see her talks in theaters around the U.S. this fall, nothing less than saving democracy—and, in the process, the Democrats—is at stake,” Friess wrote.
