Latest racist robocall claims to be from Oprah, targeting Georgia's Stacey Abrams in heated governor's race
- A racist robocall targeting Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams claims that white women are being tricked into voting for the candidate.
- Abrams said the call contributes to a culture of voter suppression.
- The call came from a white nationalist group that has unleashed numerous hateful calls in recent years.
Democrat Stacey Abrams, a black woman, is now facing racist robocalls in the heated Georgia governor's race.
In a robocall first reported by The Hill on Friday, a voice mockingly claiming to be Oprah Winfrey spewed numerous racist and anti-Semitic characterizations of the Abrams campaign.
"This is the magical negro, Oprah Winfrey, asking you to make my fellow negress, Stacey Abrams, the governor of Georgia," the call began.
The call went on to claim that "the Jews who own the American media" have tricked white women into relating to Oprah and that white women are similarly being tricked into voting for Abrams, who the voice said is a "poor-man's Aunt Jemima," referencing the Mammy figure that was once common in minstrel shows that's now synonymous with a pancake brand.
Abrams is facing off against Republican Brian Kemp in the hopes of becoming the first black female governor in America.
'Poisonous thinking'
In a statement, Abrams's campaign connected the robocall to what they said is a generally toxic environment.
"It is not surprising that in a race that has consistently been very close, we've seen several weeks of increasing desperation from many dark corners trying to steal the election, cheat, lie, and prey on people's fears rather than having the respect to listen to voters and speak to their hopes," the campaign said in a statement.
Kemp's campaign similarly condemned the robocall in a statement sent to The Hill, saying, "I stand against any person or organization that peddles this type of unbridled hate and unapologetic bigotry."
Abrams's campaign said Kemp's rejection of the ad is politically out of step with how the rest of his campaign has been run.
"Brian Kemp has only now suddenly decided to find a conscience as polls are tightening and Georgia voters are making it clear that they reject the kind of hate he and his allies have been spewing around the state," the campaign said in a statement.
In an ABC News interview, Abrams said the ad contributes to a culture that makes voters feel like "their votes don't count."
Kemp, who is currently Georgia's secretary of state, is being sued after it was revealed that in his role as election administrator he put 53,000 voters' registration in the state on hold due to minor errors. An Associated Press analysis revealed that 70% of those affected were black.
Business Insider has reached out to Abrams and Kemp and will update this post with any comment.
A familiar source
The Georgia robocall said it was paid for by TheRoadToPower.com, which the Anti-Defamation League calls "a white supremacist and anti-Semitic broadcasting outlet based in Sandpoint, Idaho." The group's leader, Scott D. Rhodes, has reportedly been linked to the distribution of white supremacist material at a local high school, more anti-Semitic robocalls, anti-Semitic posts on Gab, and harassment of a local resident.
The organization has also been linked to multiple racist robocalls in recent elections.
In Florida, two racist robocalls targeting the state's first black gubernatorial nominee, Democrat Andrew Gillum, were reportedly funded by The Road to Power.
In August, The Road to Power funded a robocall in Charlottesville calling for the repeal of the 14th Amendment, which gave black people the right to vote.
The organization's first robocall supported neo-Nazi Patrick Little, claiming that Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein is an Israeli citizen and promising to "rid America of the traitorous Jews."
In 2016, white nationalist Jared Taylor recorded a racist robocall urging people to vote for now-President Donadl Trump.
"We don't need Muslims," he said. "We need smart, well-educated white people who will assimilate to our culture. Vote Trump."
Another 2016 robocall to Iowans and Mississippi residents asked voters to choose a white supremacists candidate, warning of "white genocide."