As the Democratic field grows, Stacey Abrams weighs a presidential race

[TexasTowelie]

Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her bid to become governor of Georgia last fall, has a series of decisions to make. Should she run for the Senate in 2020? Should she wait until 2022 to run again for governor? Or, audaciously, should she join the crowded field of candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination?

Losing campaigns are not the normal launching pad for a run for the White House. But these are not normal times, and Abrams, who came within a percentage point and a half of becoming the first African-American female governor in U.S. history, is in the unusual — some might say enviable — position of being encouraged to think about running for president.

Abrams, who was the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, sat down last week with my colleague Steven Ginsberg, the Post’s national editor, and talked about the choices, the timetable and what kind of presidential campaign she would run. If she decides to make the leap, the campaign would talk about race and identity, organizing, voter engagement and voter suppression, among other things.

“I think that I am a skilled communicator,” she said. “I think I’m a very good thinker. No, I know I’m a good thinker. I know I have policy chops. I have foreign policy experience. … I’ve done a great deal of work on a number of issues. But I need to make certain that I am the best person at this moment for that job, and that’s what I need to think about.”

Read more: https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/03/16/as-the-democratic-field-grows-stacey-abrams-weighs-a-presidential-race/

[Kurt V.]

1. i saw her speak a few days ago. First time for me. very impressed

edit: i got the impression she wasn't going to run

[RLG]

2. I hope she does run.

I was very impressed with what I've seen from her.

She has as much experience as Beto, Buttigieg, and the other "young guns" who are running.

She would get my vote.

[iamateacher]

3. I am sorry

She is a wonderful speaker and has so much potential But we need people with federal experience. I love Mayor Pete too, but he also needs experience.

[Blue_true]

5. Three past Presidents only had mayoral experience in politics.

Abraham Lincoln was only a part-time Illinois State legislator when he won the Presidency.

On edit:

You can argue that issues today are more complex, but the very same argument could have been made 75, 160 years ago. People are people of the age that they live in, they deal with the problems of that age, not ones distant in the future.

[msongs]

7. lincoln served one term as a congressman nt

[Blue_true]

9. And you are right about Lincoln in Congress.

He served from 1847-1849, 11 years before he became President. He lost his reelection race for his House seat in the election of 1848. He subsequently lost two races for US Senator and was turned down for an Illinoise state level job.

If some used the analysis that they apply to people like Buttigieg, Lincoln would have never been deemed worthy of holding the presidency. He had TWO business failures, but unlike Trump, paid his creditors back (Truman did something similar after failing in business). He had a nervous breakdown. He lost 8 elections over his life. Few things that he had tried had ended with success, but he was said to be honest and true to his word.

I think that instead of disqualifying people out of hand, we should let them enter our primary race and try to convince democratic voters that they have "it".

[aikoaiko]

4. As a Georgian, I prefer her to take out Perdue and help take back the Senate.

There is really no one else within the D party in GA who has the gravitas.

[marylandblue]

6. I don't mind if she runs, but I do think she has a better shot at the Senate.

She will have several advantages going into the Senate race that she didn't have before, and won't be fighting with 15 other contenders.