Stacey Abrams, Democrats' newest Southern hope, looks to Virginia, Alabama for path to victory in GA

[DonViejo]

Stacey Abrams, Democrats’ newest Southern hope, looks to Virginia, Alabama for path to victory in Georgia

By Michael Scherer and Vanessa Williams
May 23 at 8:30 PM

The newest hope for a Democratic resurgence in the Deep South, Stacey Abrams, won her party’s nomination for governor of Georgia this week in a walk — with a 53-point margin, a massive voter turnout and a campaign victory speech that recalled the optimism of Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign.

Her next challenge is to figure out how to do what Obama never could: win statewide in Georgia, a red state that Democrats have long hoped to lure into their column.

Party strategists are hoping she can follow in the footsteps of two recent Democratic winners, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama, who succeeded by appealing to suburban Republicans disaffected by President Trump and energizing minority voters in the Democratic base. But she will attempt that feat without two big advantages they enjoyed: In Northam’s case, the blue tilt of Virginia, and in Jones’s, the accusations against his GOP opponent of sexual contact with teenagers when he was an adult.

“Creating a buzz during the primary is awesome, but you cannot stop there,” said Jones, who is scheduled to address the Georgia Democratic Party on Thursday, where he hoped to meet Abrams. “You have to roll past Democrats to make the case that you will be the candidate for all people.”

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/stacey-abrams-the-newest-hope-for-democrats-looks-to-a-difficult-path-to-victory/2018/05/23/6f462f62-5eb1-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html