Georgia Democrats Grow More Worried As Abrams-Evans Primary Feud Worsens

As Georgia’s Democrat gubernatorial primary between Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans continues to divide the party, Democrats are growing more worried about their general election chances in November. BuzzFeed News reports that even Democrat campaign staff are admitting how difficult it will be for them to win after a tough, expensive primary fight, with one Abrams adviser admitting that “if the primary runs its full course, it will get harder for the campaign to go into a potential general election at full strength.” This comes days after a memo from the Abrams campaign was leaked, detailing how she plans to step up her attacks on Evans, intending to paint her as having “abandoned core Democratic values and has left Georgians less safe and secure.”

The race for the Democrat nomination has continued to devolve into a bitter feud between Abrams and Evans, characterized by heated debate confrontations, reports of “whisper campaigns,” and even protests at one another’s speaking engagements. The increasingly bitter primary fight has even drawn comparisons to the Hillary Clinton-Bernie Sanders feud that divided Democrats during the 2016 presidential race.

BuzzFeed News reports:

“Democrats have begun to worry that a contentious and expensive primary in Georgia’s governor’s race could majorly disadvantage the eventual nominee…

Three months remain until Georgia’s May 22 primary and Georgia Democrats have two choices in the race for governor: Stacey Evans, a lawyer and former state legislator who hails from the northern part of the state, and Stacey Abrams, a tax attorney and former House minority leader of the Georgia state legislature.

Abrams advisers told BuzzFeed News worry that if the primary runs its full course, it will get harder for the campaign to go into a potential general election at full strength. That’s in part because of a big gamble by Abrams: running an expensive, aggressive field campaign almost from the very start. The campaign so far has spent nearly everything it’s taken in…

Meanwhile, there was a rumor circulating in recent weeks that Stacey Evans might drop out of the gubernatorial primary and run for attorney general or lieutenant governor instead. She’s not getting out, though.

‘That,’ in the words of an Evans adviser to BuzzFeed News, ‘is a lie.’…

In the background of all of this, the top Republican challenger, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, raised a whopping $7 million according to his most recent filing.

That’s not all that’s giving the Democrats in the race anxiety. The deadline to file if you intend to run for governor in Georgia is March 9.”