Stacey Abrams has accumulated several accomplishments in her career, making a name for herself as one of the country’s leading voting rights advocates and one of the most influential Democratic operatives in the nation. She is currently taking a second shot at becoming governor of Georgia, hoping to unseat incumbent Brian Kemp, who narrowly defeated her to win the position in 2018. But win or lose in November, Abrams has already achieved a significant title since her last political run: millionaire. And this is why conservatives are so mad.
Four years of fame and fortune
As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution details, Abrams’ financial status has improved immensely over the past four years. In 2018, she owed more than $200,000 in tax, credit card and student loan debt. Since then, she has earned millions of dollars through a variety of public ventures.
These include sales of various novels that she has written over the past 20 years but that have become popular as her brand has grown. As Blavity previously reported, Abrams has even branched out into children’s literature with an illustrated book based on her childhood. She has also made a variety of speaking engagements and public appearances, including an appearance at the Gucci Mane and Jeezy Verzuz battle and a guest role as the President of Earth on the show Star Trek: Discovery. Abrams is also a co-founder or investor in a variety of business ventures.
Campaigning on business achievements
Abrams and her campaign have argued that the candidate’s success over the past several years demonstrates her effectiveness and further qualifies her for public office. Some pundits believe that her past financial problems may have cost her the election in the close 2018 race and her ability to show a financial turnaround now will likely boost her chances in November. Abrams’ campaign has leaned heavily on highlighting her business success, such as a fintech firm she co-founded in 2010 that now brings in millions of dollars in revenue each year. The campaign believes this type of message will help counter the Kemp campaign, which often focuses on the governor’s background as a small business owner.
Translating business success into political effectiveness
Beyond showing her ability to succeed, Abrams believes that the lessons behind her financial accomplishments will translate into political impact as well. This has been a theme of Abrams on the campaign trail and in one of her recent books, Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back. In an interview with the New York Times, Abrams described the overlaps between her various endeavors.
“I don’t think I’m the product,” she told the newspaper. “I think I”m the conduit. I work hard to carry that across all of the spaces where I operate — the nonprofit space, the for-profit space, the political space.”
Conservatives question Abrams' success
While many Republicans — most notably, Donald Trump — have touted their business success when running for office, conservatives are now throwing shade at Abrams’ financial accomplishments. For example, Fox News questioned Abrams for holding down a full-time paid position while campaigning for governor in 2018, insinuating that she wasn’t doing the job she was being paid to do. Unsurprisingly, the innuendo lobbed by the conservative news channel shows an inability or unwillingness to understand the concept of a person — a Black woman in particular — working more than 40 hours a week to do multiple jobs.
The same scrutiny has not been aimed at Abrams’ opponent. Governor Brian Kemp is currently worth more than $8 million, which is more than double Abrams’ wealth. And his net worth has grown by several millions of dollars during the four years that he has been in office.
As the campaign for governor of Georgia enters its final months, the efforts by the Abrams campaign to highlight her success, and the attempts by her opponents to bring those accomplishments into question, will continue until Election Day on Nov. 8.
