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John Lewis Backs Stacey Abrams in Georgia Governor’s Race

AP J. Scott Applewhite

Georgia congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis announced his support for Stacey Abrams in her campaign for governor of Georgia.

State Representative Stacey Abrams, is seeking to become the nation’s first female African-American governor. With that in mind, Lewis believes that Abrams is “the only leader” bidding to replace Republican Gov. Nathan Deal with “the experience and an ambitious vision to uplift all families.”

Abrams is also an attorney in Atlanta. She has built a national network largely based on work to boost voter registration among minorities and often joined Lewis as a surrogate for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential election.

In the race for governor, Abrams must first win a primary against state Rep. Stacey Evans of Smyrna. Evans rolled out a key endorsement of her own this summer: Roy Barnes, the last Democrat to hold the Georgia governor’s office.

Abrams and her supporters argue that boosting voter registration among new voters, particularly minorities, will give the party the edge it needs while some Democrats backing Evans believe the party also must win back white voters who have backed Republicans in recent years.

So far, four Republicans and two Democrats have entered the 2018 race to replace Governor Nathan Deal.

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