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NATIONALPolicy
STACEY ABRAMS: A FAIR FIGHTER By Nushrat Rahman
Stacey Abrams addresses supporters shortly after her landslide victory during the 2018 Democratic Primary.
My mother, a pastor, told me once that you meet people where they are, not where you want them to be. In politics, that means understanding your opponent’s beliefs and then looking for common ground where the outcomes benefit the many.” STACEY ABRAMS 2018 DEMOCR ATIC NOMINEE FOR GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA; FOUNDER AND CHAIR, FAIR FIGHT ACTION
Stacey Abrams — business woman, nonprofit leader, and elected official — has entrepreneurial zeal. The former candidate for governor of Georgia, who delivered the official Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address in February, is a two-time founder.
“I ran for governor of Georgia because I believe we can build a state where every family can succeed,” Abrams says. “Although the outcome was not what I had hoped, we transformed the electorate in Georgia. Voters who had sat out recent elections felt moved to cast their ballot.”
Abrams co-founded Nourish, a small business which made formula-ready bottled water for babies and sippy-cups for toddlers, and NOWAccount, a company providing a payment system to small businesses, improving their cash flow so they can grow and thrive.
She notes that her campaign increased turnout of Latinx, Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), and African American voters and young voters. Abrams cites voter suppression tactics and election mismanagement during the race.
“In all of my ventures…my primary goal is to find solutions to the problems others face,” she says. She applies the same philosophy to her political work. In her historic 2018 run, Abrams vied for the Georgia gubernatorial seat. She would have become the first African American woman elected governor in the United States. Although she lost the race, her run left an impact.
“As results came in on November 6, so did reports from around the state of long lines, malfunctioning machines, and voters missing from the voting rolls,” she says. “In the period surrounding Election Day 2018, our voter protection hotline received over 50,000 calls from voters whose right to vote was threatened or taken away.” Soon after the election, she launched Fair Fight Action, a nonprofit, to advocate for elections reforms in Georgia. In November