What has happened and is still happening in Georgia is amazing. As of this morning, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have pulled ahead of Donald Trump in the vote count. It seems like votes cast in the late John Lewis’s district were likely the votes which pushed Biden-Harris over. As of this writing, Biden has pulled ahead in Georgia with about 917 votes. Once all of the ballots are counted, I have no doubt that the Republicans will ask for a recount. Still… it’s amazing.
It was about more than Biden-Harris though – there was historic voter turnout and historic Democratic turnout in Georgia for many reasons. One, Georgia was voting on BOTH of their Senate seats, and there was so much money poured into the state because of that, and it’s looking both Senate races are likely heading for January runoff elections, that’s how tight those vote counts are (Georgians, please vote for Jon Osoff and Raphael Warnock). The Democratic Party really spent some money and time in Georgia, even sending Barack Obama to do a huge drive-in rally on Monday. Imagine how much money is about to be spent in Georgia over the next 10 weeks too. People can still register to vote in the Senate runoff election – go here.
Another factor in Georgia’s flip was the work Stacey Abrams did over the past two years. Abrams ran for governor in the state in 2018 and lost in a nail-biter, with state-wide Republican shenanigans and election ratf–king. Since losing the governor’s race, Abrams has devoted herself to organizing within her state and encouraging the national party to put resources into Georgia, that the state could flip blue within years. Abrams had a six-year plan. It paid off in two years.
Also, don’t count out John Lewis making good trouble in heaven.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid, WENN.
It’s so close!!! Too close to feel comfortable. But it is starting to feel safe to be hopeful and happy again!
They’re also saying there are 40k sidelines ballots in GA because they need to contact the voter for signature verification. If you voted absentee ballot there please contact your local officials to confirm your vote was counted!
It’s 1096 now!
I just listened to a delightful interview with Abrams over the weekend and was feeling renewed hope after hearing her. Georgia and this country are blessed to have her.
I like and respect her so much. She got robbed in her own election but keeps on fighting for her state and the entire country. Great job Georgia! And I really do think the soul of John Lewis had a little something to do with this.
I hope she runs again for Governor in 2022.
Stacey Abrams deserves all the seats at the table.
I mean, I’m not a one-woman-to-rule-them-all kind of person, but I absolutely agree.
Agree with you @Midnight@theOasis Governor…or maybe even next levels. I want her running all the things. She is so amazing.
Oh, Yes! For the Georgia Senate runoff races, the DNC needs to do two things – first, ask Stacey Abrams what she needs, where she needs it and who does she want working with her (there are a few other amazing Black women also doing organizing work in GA). Second, they need to stand back and just sign checks.
When that is over, she has earned a very long, luxurious vacation!
And while we are at it, she has a side gig as a romance writer under the pseudonym Selena Montgomery. Buy Her Books!
I was literally just coming here to share this about her romance books lol. Buy them!
I think she needs to take over the DNC. She’s such a go-getter and knows how to lead. They need to revamp that organization, and I think she could do it.
Georgia, we are counting on you!!!! Ummm, no pun intended.
Democrats owe a huge debt of gratitude to stacey Abrams here. Even if Biden ends up not taking it, she is a political powerhouse and rockstar. This just shows what boots on the ground organizing can do.
After waking up to the Georgia flip, I have been reading about Stacey Abrams and she sounds remarkable. She turned a negative (her 2018 gubernatorial loss) into a positive by starting Fair Right Action to address voter suppression and it looks like she and her teams have been working their butts off to get people to vote and they succeeded. Regardless of one’s party affiliation, one cannot be anything other than impressed with Ms Abrams’ determination. I hope to god Georgia doesn’t flip back to red. I hope Kemp is in a state of shock.
This! She is absolutely amazing! When she won the primary to be the Dems gubernatorial candidate, I remember reading a piece that discussed her controversial strategy(lol)of trying to widen the dems electorate of POC and other under-engaged communities- basically getting non voters to vote. The more common strategy in the South was to try to win with the same Dem base and white moderates. The work she has done for years, as well of the work of Georgia’s long time activism has helped make this happen. There are so many new voters in Georgia that the state is now one that is in-play.
Truly I hope Biden maintains this lead and that more broadly the party learns that you shouldn’t give up on certain places where you could make gains if you invest in infrastructure and building networks consistently.
Black women, saving us all again.
Thank you Ms. Abrams!!!
(I hope Biden puts her in the Cabinet)
There was a story yesterday (from Axios, I think) about this very possibility, saying that “Mitch won’t allow it”. And here we go again.
She needs to be named DNC chair. Think of all this beautiful, brilliant woman could accomplish on a national level in that role!
In other news, I am officially nominating Stacey for sainthood. Georgia turning blue can only be classified as a miracle.
Can’t Biden have acting cabinet members? Trump did.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Hallelujah.
Halleluuu-uuuu-yaaah…
This Canadian watches. This Canadian hopes with you. This Canadian will celebrate with you. Soon.
Another Canadian here (with relatives in the US) I hope to celebrate soon too. 🙂
Don’t want to jinx it – but hoping the same from this Canadian…
If you haven’t seen Warnock’s new campaign ad, go find it. It’s awesome.
Whew, what a morning already. I came downstairs expecting to see that PA had flipped to blue, but I’ll take GA too!
Here it is!
https://twitter.com/reverendwarnock/status/1324321816102506497?s=21
I saw that on twitter yesterday and it took me a little while to watch it because the Image you see before playing the ad is him with his fork and knife and the pizza, and I just knew it was going to make me like him less. I obviously thought it was hysterical once I watched and saw what it was about.
@snuffles – that’s a great ad! Ha!
I was watching this morning (because I’ve barely been sleeping) when Biden took the lead in the count and I had this unexpected complete emotional release. I started tearing up, which surprised me, until a few minutes later when I was full-on crying. I know everyone is saying that the map favors Biden, but I think this made it real to me in a way it hadn’t been. We might finally be getting out of this 4-year nightmare.
Now that I have a little hope, if Trump pulls out a victory, it will break me.
I know exactly how you feel. To quote Chicago Cub Anthony Rizzo just before they won the World Series in 2016: “I’m in a glass case of emotions.” As are all my friends. It doesn’t feel right to relax just yet, the trauma of these past four years is not going to just magically end, unfortunately.
A “glass case of emotions” is a really great way to put it. I’m not even sure i realized before the damn broke, but in retrospect it’s a completely apt description. And you’re right about it not feeling right to relax yet, it was early enough that I thought I could still get a few hours of sleep before starting my day, but it turns out that Biden pulling ahead in Georgia did not cure my stress insomnia.
right there with you.
I won’t fully relax until the results are certified.
That woman is too good for us but thank god for her.
+1
What is taking Nevada so long?
Apparently, the entire city of Las Vegas is hung over and is late to the voting center. 🤪
Thanks for this! I’ll take every laugh I can get, especially now.
Watched an interview with the NV Registrar and he said that NV is new to the mail-in voting, which is being used due to the pandemic, and they are taking their time to ensure it is done properly, for example, they do not want to duplicate a walk-in vote with a mail-in ballot. Also they have some ballots whereby the voters need to bring in their IDs. Plus there are ballots that need to be fixed, such as the signature doesn’t seem right and the voters have time to come in and “cure” their ballot. They must be done with all counting by 12 Nov. It sounded like NV was bending over backwards to get all of the incorrect ballots corrected and included in the count.
@aurora all my teacher friends are joking that Nevada is using the new Common Core math standards. (Teacher humor – give them a break; they’re under a lot of stress right now!)
I legit just cried. As my adopted country looks to be falling into chaos, you get this. Despite all the voter suppression efforts and dangerous rhetoric, two PATRIOTIC WOMEN, one black Democrat and one white Republican, step up to LEAD and protect democracy. There is no doubt that Abrams’ efforts over the past few years made this happen. I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Stacey Abrams. I’m also giving Cindy McCain and AZ Republicans some credit because they are showing us that there are still good Republicans that put country first. And all this while weak GOP men say nothing as Trump is attacking democratic system…
This is not the thread for a Cindy McCain shout-out. Not that we don’t appreciate her speaking out against Trump, but no, not here.
Mina, I second your shout-out to Cindy McCain. We’re talking about people who helped secure Biden’s success and she should also be acknowledged. I am just elated this morning and hope that they finally call this election today.
Stacey Abrams deserves a medal. She has led the way and shown Democrats how to win.
Also, the push starting in 2016 to make voting easier at the state level by opening polling places ahead of time, pushing mail-in ballots, etc. has paid off. This work started well before coronavirus.
Expect Republicans to spend the next two years trying to limit voting so they can try to find seats in 2022.
We all need to become involved in voting initiatives to protect our democracy and reverse gerrymandering whenever possible. Imagine what we could do if the system was NOT leaning heavily against us.
This need to be put in billboards in every in every voting district in every state: Pay attention to how your district lines are drawn and redrawn (is your district being gerrymandered in ways that undercut progressive votes? Start agitating against that and drawing attention to it); demand easy access to voting, including more polling stations, longer hours of operation at polling places, and penalty-free voting opportunities (like, mandated time off or public holidays for voting); join movements and action committees to increase voter registration, especially in typically ignored communities.
We shouldn’t be calling on angels in each election — if we all put our backs into giving a fraction of what Stacey Abrams has given us, we will increase voter turnout in marginalized communities and empower people to make choices in their own interests.
Proud to have voted for all these people (Warnock, Ossoff – who I get absolutely batsh-t attack ads about in my mailbox every day – and obviously Biden), and happy to vote in a runoff again. We could’ve had a bad bitch in Stacey Abrams as governor, and while that makes me sad all the time it’s awesome, but not surprising, to see her out there doing more work than our actual governor. Kemp spent all of his time this year sucking up to Trump and whining and masks and bowling alleys.
Turn, turn, turn
Yeah, the tables ’bout to turn…
Come on, Georgia!
Stacy Abrams is an icon. She dusted herself off after a brutal loss, made a plan, and two years later, that plan and her hard work seems to be paying off. the Dems need to follow her lead for the next few years (I saw some mentions of her being named DNC chair, but she’s the kind of person where I feel like she may have something different in mind, considering the Dems were pushing her to run for GA Senate and she said nah, I have something better planned.)
I also feel like Georgia is a gift from John Lewis and Arizona is a gift from John McCain.
Ooo! Can’t wait to hear what her plan is! I will support her in any role she desires. She is amazing and exactly who we want leading us.
I admit I was skeptical when Georgia was thought to be a possible swing state in September, but I had forgotten about Stacy Abrams’s voter engagement and awareness group. I’m happy for her, Georgia and this country because it’s paid off sooner than planned and just in time when it was needed.
If Beto O’ Rourke had not decided to run for president and instead focused on similar issues in Texas, then the seeds of Texas going Democrat in presidential elections and getting more Democrats in state-wide offices might be starting, and maybe yield results in time for the 2024 election.
There’s going to be a lot of analyses from both Democrats and Republicans of the election results. I hope that the Democrats at least use some of the lessons learned for 2022, especially working on regaining House seats and being smart about what Republican held Senate races to put their money into. Going after Susan Collins, a moderate Republican, was a mistake. If the Democrats can’t retake the Senate this year, a Biden administration will need her as a GOP ally in the Senate. There’s talk about Democrats targeting Ohio in 2022, both the Senate and Governor’s race, which I feel would be a huge mistake. First, DeWine, their governor, has handled Covid the best out of any GOP governor. Second, unless there’s a major demographics change and/or get out the vote effort, there’s too many white voters who vote GOP against their own best interests.
If the DNC is smart, they’d go after Republicans in blue states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. As a Wisconsite, I would love to see Ron Johnson gone from the Senate. You know the guy is awful when he’s giving Joseph McCarthy competition for the worst politician in state history.
I cried when I saw the Georgia results flip. First time I’ve cried watching the results come in. I believed it would happen, but it was so satisfying to see it, and so great to have it be a batch of votes from John Lewis’s district be the ones that put Biden over the top. Rest in Power, Congressman.
This really speaks to the power of grassroots organizing and political education. If she pulls this off, her strategies should be implemented everywhere turnout is low for underrepresented groups and the vote is being suppressed. I really hope the Dem party recognizes this. And I really hope they can pull off both Senate races somehow. A Biden presidency with McConnell obstructing in the Senate is… not ideal and will bode even more poorly for the mid-terms.
It never should have been about trying to get people to switch sides, but rather getting the non-voters, disenfranchised, and underrepresented out to the poles. We’ve always known there are more Dems than Repubs in this country. That’s why voter suppression, disenfranchisement, and intimidation (three sides of the same coin) is the Republicans’ only play.
They owe Stacey so much. They need to give her whatever she wants.
Truth.
Stacey Abrams needs to head up the Democratic Party and lead it to more victories, more voter turnout in the next four years and years to come. The Demos need to rethink, revitalize, and reinforce party platform … one that emphasizes diversity, inclusion, and human rights. These races are coming too close to call, not just the presidential, but also congress and elections on the state and local levels. And they need a new strong leader who can be a force to reckon with. My vote is for Stacey Abrams. I’m also more partial to her than to some of the other Demo leaders like Buttigieg, Warren, Harris, and Sanders … so not being neutral here with my admiration for her.
+1
Agreed. My vote is for Stacey Abrams for *any* position she seeks. And wow…imagine if she were POTUS!
As someone in GA, it’s been exciting to follow this race, but I can’t bring myself to celebrate until Biden officially secures it.
Stacey Abrams is incredible. It’s worth noting that she has actually been fighting voter suppression and registering new voters for years, even before she ran for governor. That’s part of how she was able to come so close to winning, though the Republicans still stole it away. Over the past 2 years, she has made FairFight her main focus, and the work has paid off. So proud!
We are blue!! I’m so happy. It’s been a long road. We lost John Lewis, CT Vivian and Joseph Lowery in the last years and the sadness and hopelessness seemed overwhelming. But in their names, we came out to vote. Stacey Abrams should get any position in the Biden administration that she wants, but I kinda hope she tries again to be our governor. Just to see that pucker faced doofus Kemp have to slink back into obscurity. Our senate races are for control of the Senate. We have to keep this same enthusiasm (and we will) to get them into Congress. Progress for this country depends on stopping McConnell and his minions. John Ossoff and Rev. Warnock are good people with lots of money on hand to defeat Perdue and Loeffler. I can’t wait for the WNBA to target Loeffler again. Whoo hoo! We’re blue!!
Congratulations and thank you all for making this happen!
*Squee* Thanks!
@theoriginalMia, I was reading the r/blackpeopletwitter sub on Reddit last night, and so many people there were commenting on how BIPOC came through in Georgia, and aren’t getting the recognition they deserve. People on the sub were posting meme after meme, and my descriptions couldn’t do it justice. While they were focused on Georgia, I am sure there are similar folks in Pennsylvania who made this happen as well.
We know that so many white people advocate for equity and fairness out of one side of their mouths, then vote for Trump out of the other. So many people in Georgia (and Penn) showed up, and while it was inspired by leaders like Abrams, it was still their individual beliefs that drove them to those polls. I am thankful to all who have flipped this election.
Nope. Stacey Abrams brought her plan to turn GA blue to Sen. Coons 6 years ago. She worked tirelessly to get people, who had been disenfranchised by Kemp and other Republicans, registered to vote. She fought to get paper ballots and when the voter rolls reestablished. She has been on the case not only in Georgia, but in Detroit and other areas. She did that. When no one in the DNC was giving 2 craps about Georgia, she saw our potential. She gets her props. She helped all of us. If those BIPOC are feeling unrecognized, I don’t know what to tell them.
It’s going on a recount. I hope people remain vigilant against trump stealing votes.
Yes!!!! Congrats and thank you!!!!
Donate to both campaigns if you can:
Jon Ossof
https://electjon.com/
Raphael Warnock
https://warnockforgeorgia.com/
Plan to from Alabama😊
I was honored to meet Stacey 8 years ago when the JFK Library gave her a New Frontier Award. Caroline Kennedy spoke then about how Stacey was shaking things up in Georgia and would have a tremendous impact beyond her own state
The created the Cabinet position of Homeland Security after 9/11. I hope they create a Cabinet position that addresses citizen equality during the Biden administration. This fantasy position would, of course, deal with addressing issues of inequity in addition to the very important right to vote.
I would highly recommend Stacey Abrams for that position.
A question. The Associated Press has Biden at 263 electoral votes while CNN gives Biden 253. Can anyone explain the disparity?
Arizona is still counting. However, those are mail in ballots from blue areas of the state. I guess CNN just can’t wrap their heads around it quite yet.
I know this is from this morning, but that’s not quite how Arizona works.
Maricopa County is where most Arizona residents live. I wouldn’t call it blue at all. Outside of a few areas (Downtown Phoenix, Historic Districts, Tempe near ASU, Maricopa County is largely red. And it got super red and racist after Obama was elected.
Plus, Arizonans vote by mail. So even though Trump was fear mongering regarding mail in votes, both liberals and conservatives use AZ’s mail in voting system.
If the media was saying that most of the outstanding votes were coming in from Pima County (Tucson), then it would be more blue votes coming in since Tucson is more liberal than Phoenix.
Having said all that, there have been some demographic shifts and excellent grassroots work in election seasons and beyond. And as of this post, Biden’s lead there is Decreasing, but not at the rate Trump needs to close the gap.
Different press outlets call races at different times. No major press entity has officially declared Biden the winner due to the ongoing counts.
Nothing makes me happier than thinking of John Lewis pissing off Cheeto Mussolini from the afterlife. In life he fought so hard against Mango Voldemort’s evil words and deeds. Bless the Georgia voters who are carrying on his legacy of good trouble. Bless them all!
This Georgian loved seeing Stacey Abrams in the photo. The only negative is that we will be so inundated with attack adds. My boys are so sick of seeing political ads when they want to watch gamers on YouTube.
I’m so glad to see a post highlighting Stacey Abrams. She is the kind of career politician we want to see, and it is because of her and now Honorable Ancestor John Lewis and their mobilization of Black voters that we are (yet again) saved from the brink of even more horror in this country. Let’s all do our best to uplift Stacey Abrams, to give her her flowers *now* in appreciation, and to make sure to support any future runs she makes. Once again, Black women save this f-ing country from itself. I need everyone to acknowledge this and the efforts of grassroots activists and regular everyday Black folks who waited 75% longer due to voter suppression in order to get out the vote.
You speak the truth. In looking ahead to the two special Senate elections in GA, I was thinking I would put my money toward Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight as well as the Georgia NAACP. Would love feedback on those choices or other options from people who might know better than I what will be the most helpful. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Black community for literally saving us.
Yes. I grew up in a pasty-white Atlanta suburb (which still went for Trump, but only barely, which is shocking enough) and I never in a million years thought I would see this day. Stacey Abrams is a civil rights hero as well as a true class act, and she deserves every bit of the respect and admiration headed her way and more. What she has achieved is incredible. She’s an inspiration to every patriot.
Eternally grateful to the Black folks in general and to the Black women in particular who, once again, are saving a nation of ungrateful, ignorant asses from itself. We owe them a debt we cannot repay. We have so much work to do.
They are doing a recount… how do we feel about this????
This is what someone replied to me in the other thread
“He’s going to win PA by a wide enough margin for no recount. Possibly AZ and NV too. I’m not worried. Recounts only change the outcome by hundreds at most and often favor the original winner.”
I still hope he wins Georgia.
THANK YOU, Georgia!! Been humming Ray Charles’ “Georgia ” all day. Lol!
Stacy Abrams history has its eyes on you and it is a beautiful sight!
Should be called “Abrams Revenge.” If those run off elections benefit Democrats at all, this country owes her an incredible debt of gratitude.