This past weekend, Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat gubernatorial hopeful, made the claim that her horrid results in recent polls stemmed entirely from black men being unable to wade through what she called “misinformation” being used to expressly target them.
As seen in the most recent polls made public by RealClearPolitics, Abrams sits solidly behind incumbent Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R) by anywhere from 6 points all the way up into the double digits — and she stated that reasoning for such numbers coming out while speaking during an MSNBC interview.
WATCH:
Stacey Abrams explaining her poll numbers: "Unfortunately, this year, black men have been a very targeted population for misinformation. Not misinformation about what they want but about why they want what they deserve." pic.twitter.com/HhPxK0vVgj
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) November 6, 2022
Abrams kicked things off by stating that she did not put any trust in the polls — which have recently been stating that the support for her amongst black male voters have crashed throughout her most recent attempt to take the gubernatorial seat — meaning that there has been much actual enthusiasm for Kemp.
“I do not believe it’s because of a deep well of enthusiasm for my opponent,” explained Abrams, quickly swapping her arguement to be about race and seemingly trying to blame black men in particular for falling victim to what she called targeted “misinformation” — but she failed to put any clarity onto what kind of “misinformation” she was actually alluding to.
“We know that black voters are often discounted, and unfortunately, this year, black men have been a very targeted population for misinformation. Not misinformation about what they want, but about why they want what they deserve,” she explained. “And my campaign has been the only one that has very intentionally, thoughtfully, and consistently reached out.”
Zaid Jilani, with News Nation, stated that if the trends expressed in current polls ends up being accurate, Abrams will have dropped way down from earning a total of 94% of the black vote back in 2018 to a much lower 82% of said vote after only four years.
I think there's a pretty simple reason Kemp might be doing better with black men than he did in 2018. A few days ago he was at the groundbreaking of a Hyundai electric vehicle plant outside Savannah, the largest economic development in GA history. It's jobs.
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) November 6, 2022
Jilani continued on to suggest that, instead of what she calls misinformation, maybe it was just Kemp’s primary focus on jobs that sparked the massive swing in support.
“I think there’s a pretty simple reason Kemp might be doing better with black men than he did in 2018,” stated Jilani via social media. “A few days ago he was at the groundbreaking of a Hyundai electric vehicle plant outside Savannah, the largest economic development in GA history. It’s jobs.”
Kemp recently announced the massive project, which will manage to create over 8,000 new jobs and spark Hyundai to invest almost $5.5 billion into the state’s economy, just this past May. “My commitment to hardworking Georgians to make our state the best place to live, work, and raise our families remains steadfast, and with this announcement, which is now the largest economic development project in our state’s history, we will continue working to make Georgia the premier destination for quality companies who are creating the jobs of today, tomorrow, and beyond,” he stated at that time.
