This week, 2022 democratic gubernatorial nominee, Stacey Abrams, visited the 85South Show to discuss her second campaign for governor of Georgia.
After losing a tightly contested race in 2018, Abrams will once again battle Gov. Kemp this November for the state's top job.
During the interview, show host Chico Bean asked Abrams how she felt about the legalization of recreational marijuana in the state. Abrams explained that she wouldn't support legalizing the drug in Georgia until it is decriminalized at a federal level, fearing that Black Georgians will still be arrested on federal charges, without a national law.
"We're gonna be the first majority-minority state, where the majority of minorities are African-American," Abrams said. "We are not Colorado. We are not the states that have legalized marijuana. They will arrest us."
Bean also asked Abrams why politicians are so hesitant to campaign on policies that specifically help Black people.
"Because African-Americans represent 12% of the population," she responded. "If you're a traditional politician doing the math, you think; if I name this group, I am going to lose other people."
"I'm not always going to only talk about what we can do for Black people, but I'm always going to make certain that I am thinking about how we serve the Black community," Abrams later stated.
Abrams also discussed healthcare, and said her very first move as governor would be expanding Medicaid. Georgia is one of 12 states that has yet to expand Medicaid. Gov. Kemp has declined it for years, saying it would be too expensive long-term.
Kemp's "Georgia Pathways" healthcare plan, has a lower income requirement than Medicaid. Kemp's plan also requires at least 80 hours of reported work per month, and analysts estimate that it would cover about 50,000 low-income Georgians. Abrams argued that a full Medicaid expansion would cover around half a million Georgians, and would only cost slightly more than Kemp's plan.
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