Politics- Brian Kemp said he was concerned about Democratic turnout efforts after their gains in the state.
- On Tuesday, he pointed to Stacey Abrams' fundraising edge as something that can't be taken lightly.
Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday said that the Democratic turnout operation in the state should not be underestimated, pointing to the opposing party's statewide victories in 2020 and robust fundraising totals from his opponent, former state House minority leader Stacey Abrams.
While speaking to Republicans in Alpharetta, a city in the northern reaches of populous Fulton County, Kemp argued that the party was stronger on education and the economy as he seeks a second term in office in a rematch with Abrams.
As Kemp made the case for his reelection, he also opined on the get-out-the-vote apparatus of the state's Democrats, who over the past decade have gone from a beleaguered party to one that has cut sharply into the Republican dominance in the state.
When Kemp was asked by New York Times reporter Maya King if the Democratic turnout strategy was still a "concern" for him as the November general election approaches, he replied: "Damn right it is."
"I would tell all these people out there: Don't believe any of these polls. You cannot underestimate their ground game," Kemp said of the Democrats.
He continued: "Stacey Abrams has raised a fortune from other states around the country. Money from New York, Delaware, Chicago, wherever. We cannot get overconfident. We have to work like we've never worked before, and we have to have a ground game that — quite honestly — can compete with theirs. And I believe this year we're going to do that."
Through early July, Abrams had raised $49 million since she launched her gubernatorial campaign in December, according to The Atlanta-Journal Constitution; Kemp raised $25 million for his reelection bid through that same month.
"We're never going to outspend them, but I do believe we're going to outwork 'em and we're going to have something that they haven't seen in the last three or four cycles here in Georgia," Kemp said alongside Virginia GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who was stumping for the incumbent on Tuesday.
In 2020, now-President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in Georgia — the first time a Democratic presidential nominee had won the state since Bill Clinton in 1992 — and Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff ousted then-GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, respectively, in dual 2021 Senate runoff elections.
Democrats have also made substantial gains in the suburbs of Atlanta, with onetime GOP-dominated localities like Cobb County and Gwinnett County increasingly voting blue from state legislative races to presidential contests.
Recent polling numbers have generally shown Kemp with a lead over Abrams.
A September CBS News/YouGov poll showed Kemp ahead of Abrams 52%-46% among likely voters.
In a recent Marist Poll, Kemp led Abrams 50%-44% among registered voters.
And a newly-released Fox News poll had Kemp with a seven-point lead (50%-43%) over Abrams among registered voters.
But the state has also added 1.6 million voters to its rolls since the 2018 elections, per the Journal-Constitution, allowing both candidates to connect with an entirely new contingent of potential supporters.