FINAL GOV. DEBATE: Abrams Will Provide Solutions, Kemp Will Lie & Dodge

Kemp Will Continue to Mislead Voters on His Extreme Record Without Clearly Outlining Plans to Fix the Growing Problems on His Watch

Sunday’s final gubernatorial debate will show Georgia voters the stark contrast between Gov. Brian Kemp, who will lie and dodge questions about his extreme record, and Stacey Abrams, who will continue outlining her agenda to provide solutions to crucial problems facing Georgians.

When it comes to education, healthcare, and housing — Stacey has plans to reduce costs and help Georgians keep more money in their pockets, and build One Georgia, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

During the first debate, Kemp misled voters on his dangerous agenda — lying when asked about health care, gun safety, voter suppression, and other important issues — and in tonight’s debate, voters can expect more of the same.

Kemp’s Lies During the First Gubernatorial Debate:

On Gun Safety:

• Kemp’s Lie: “There is a federal background check on every individual that buys a firearm in the United States of America.” Click here to watch the clip.

• The Truth: If you purchase a weapon through a private sale or a gun show, you aren’t subject to a background check.

• More: Despite rising gun violence in Georgia under Kemp, the governor signed a dangerous permitless carry bill into law that made it easier for criminals to carry guns in public by getting rid of the background check for concealed carry. Because background checks are not required for private gun sales, “oftentimes permit applications are the first time a check is required.” Kemp signed the law despite broad opposition, with polls showing 70% of Georgians were against it and major concerns from law enforcement.

On Voter Suppression:

• Kemp’s Lie: “She [Stacey Abrams] said that Senate Bill 202 would be suppressive and Jim Crow 2.0…In Georgia, it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat.” Click here to watch the clip.

• The Truth: SB 202 made it harder for eligible voters to stay on the rolls, vote by mail, and vote in person. The anti-voter law made numerous changes that made it more difficult for Georgians to cast a ballot and have it counted, including shortening the window during which voters can request and return an absentee ballot, drastically reducing the number of ballot drop boxes and eliminating hundreds of hours of drop box availability, making it much harder to vote by provisional ballot, and making it a crime for volunteers to hand out a bottle of water or snack to voters waiting in long lines.

• More: As Secretary of State, Kemp oversaw 1.4 million voter registrations canceled — nearly 670,000 registrations were canceled in 2017 and low-income and minority Georgians were most likely to be impacted. Kemp put 53,000 voter registrations on hold just before the 2018 election — nearly 70% were Black voters. After Kemp encouraged voting location closures, Georgia closed higher percentages of locations than any other state — Black voters made up a significant percentage of the population in several of the top counties where polls were closed.

On Health Care:

• Kemp’s Lie: “The problem is, it’s a broken government program, that she [Stacey Abrams] wants the government to decide your health care — that will also kick 200,000 private citizens off their private sector health care.” Click here to watch the clip.

• The Truth: Medicaid expansion would not make anyone ineligible for private insurance and studies show it doesn’t lead to people losing private insurance. Expansion reduces health care costs across the board, including for people with private insurance who are unlikely to ever need Medicaid coverage. Georgia has the fifth-highest uninsured rate in America and with 70% of Georgians struggling to afford health care costs, Kemp’s opposition to expansion proves he puts politics over his constituents’ health.

• More: As Georgians brace for another devastating hospital closure — the sixth to close on Kemp’s watch — he’s doubling down on his stubborn refusal to expand Medicaid, blocking access to health coverage for more than half a million Georgians, preventing the creation of over 64,000 jobs, and leaving more rural hospitals in danger of closing. More than 1.5 million Georgians lack health insurance coverage.

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