Democrat Stacey Abrams announced Wednesday she has raised more than $9 million over the first two months of her second gubernatorial bid in Georgia, putting her on solid financial footing in what is shaping up to be an expensive contest.
Ms. Abrams, a well-known voting rights activist and former state lawmaker, received money from more than 100,000 donors and has $7.2 million cash on hand, according to a statement from her campaign.
“As her Republican opponents fight each other, put greed before Georgians and push dangerous criminal carry legislation, Stacey Abrams will continue to fight as she has for years for Georgians, their jobs, their health care and their safety,” said campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo.
Ms. Abrams appears to be on a glide path to winning the Democratic nomination, which would set up a possible rematch with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who defeated her in 2018.
If she wins, Ms. Abrams would be the nation’s first Black woman elected as governor.
The Kemp campaign said Tuesday the incumbent raised more than $7.4 million over the final seven months of 2021 and has $12.7 million in cash on hand.
SEE ALSO: Trump makes direct-to-camera plea for Perdue in Georgia’s governor race
Before Mr. Kemp gets another try at Ms. Abrams, the Republican first has to survive a primary challenge from former Sen. David Perdue, who lost his Senate seat to Democrat Jon Ossoff in the 2020 election.
Then-President Trump endorsed Mr. Kemp in 2018, but turned against the governor after he refused to embrace his unsubstantiated stolen election claims.
Mr. Trump urged Mr. Perdue to challenge Mr. Kemp and has endorsed his bid ahead of the May 25 primary.
Mr. Trump also this week was featured in Mr. Perdue’s first campaign commercial, attacking Mr. Kemp and delivering a direct-to-camera plea on his behalf of Mr. Perdue.
The Georgia governor’s race is shaping up to be one of the most-watched, high-profile races of the 2022 election.
Voters there also will decide whether to give Sen. Raphael Warnock a full six-year term in the Senate.
Mr. Warnock, a Democrat, won his seat in a special election runoff race last year and is likely on a crash course with another Trump acolyte: former NFL running back Herschel Walker, a former Heisman Trophy winner.
Mr. Warnock recently announced he had raised $9.8 million in his latest campaign finance report. Mr. Walker, meanwhile, said he had raised $5.4 million.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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