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Monday, May 21, 2018

Stacey Vs. Stacey: The Democratic Fight For Governor In Georgia

There are two Democrats running for governor in Georgia — Stacey Abrams, who's black and Stacey Evans, who's white. It's a contest that's underscored how complicated race remains for Democrats.

The two candidates running for governor in the Georgia Democratic primary on May 22 have plenty of similarities: they're both women named Stacey; they're both former legislators in the Georgia House of Representatives; they're both lawyers; and they're both calling for similar progressive policies, such as expanding Medicaid.

But Stacey Abrams is black. And Stacey Evans is white. The color of their skin is the most obvious, if not superficial, difference between the two women.

And it's led to a racialized campaign full of competing strategies on how you win.

No Democrat has won a gubernatorial or U.S. senate race in Georgia in more than a decade. For some context, in 2014, both the Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jason Carter and the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Michelle Nunn lost by about 200,000 votes. So the question is — how does a Democrat in 2018 find those additional 200,000 votes?

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