Tipsheet

Stacey Abrams on Being Potential VP Pick: 'I Would Be an Excellent Running Mate'

In an interview with Elle Magazine, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams characterized herself as an “excellent VP candidate:"

“I would be an excellent running mate. I have the capacity to attract voters by motivating typically ignored communities.”

Abrams’s name has been floated within talks of Joe Biden’s vice presidential choices after she gained name recognition in the 2018 midterms. After losing to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) in 2018, Abrams famously refused to concede, claiming that “democracy had failed” and that voter suppression denied her the governorship:


Abrams acknowledged that her loss in a governor’s race that was nationalized by the Democratic Party, and fueled by identity politics, is a huge part of her political repertoire, but insisted that she is ready and willing to serve as VP:

“I am very self-aware, and I know that my résumé...is usually reduced to ‘She didn’t become the governor of Georgia.’ But it is important to understand all the things I did to prepare for that contest,” Abrams said.

Abrams’ strategy in auditioning to be Biden’s running mate is diametrically opposed to other top contenders, especially Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Kamala Harris (D-CA). The aforementioned women, among others, have remained quiet about a potential vice presidential tap, at least outwardly. 

Given her rhetoric centered around identity politics, refusal to fully accept responsibility for her 2018 loss and her tired narrative of unproven "voter suppression," Abrams as a vice presidential candidate would be a gift to the GOP and President Trump's re-election, to say the least.