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NORCROSS, Ga. — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is defending remarks she made over the weekend that Georgia is the “worst state in the country to live,” referring to its poor ranking for maternal mortality and incarceration rates among other issues.
Abrams, who is expected to formally receive her party’s gubernatorial nomination in Georgia’s primary Tuesday, was speaking at a fundraising dinner for Gwinnett County Democrats outside Atlanta when she pushed back on Republican Gov. Brain Kemp’s frequent boasts about Georgia being ranked the best state in the country for business.
“I am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live,” Abrams said Saturday in remarks that received extended applause from the audience.
“Now, somebody’s going to try to Politifact me on this — let me contextualize,” Abrams continued. “When you’re number 48 for mental health, when you’re number one from maternal mortality, when you have an incarceration rate that’s on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you are not the number one place to live in the United States. But we can get there. You see, Georgia is capable of greatness. We just need greatness to be in our governor’s office.”
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In a tweet and Instagram post, Abrams further clarified those statistics. Georgia does hold the highest maternal mortality rate in the country and is one of many states with a minimum wage that equals the federal rate, but fares better in other categories like education and crime.
Her comment sparked criticism from the right with former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller dubbing it “a contender for all-time worst campaign slogan” and Fox News host Brian Kilmeade calling it “very odd.”
Kemp responded on Twitter by saying he believes Georgia is the “best state to live, work, and raise a family” and that he will “work hard every day from now until November to keep it that way.”
The governor’s campaign also said he is likely to address Abrams’ remarks on stage Monday night during a rally with former Vice President Mike Pence.
Kemp is facing a primary challenge Tuesday former Sen. David Perdue, who is backed by former President Donald Trump, but Perdue’s campaign has struggled to gain traction and polls show the incumbent far ahead.
Kemp narrowly defeated Abrams in 2018, when they were both their parties’ nominees for governor, and their likely rematch in November is expected to be one of the highest-profile governor’s races in the country, testing just how blue the historically red Georgia has become.
