Alex Wong/Getty ImagesBy QUINN SCANLAN, ABC News
(NEW YORK) — As the public campaigning ramps up to be presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s vice presidential pick, Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Georgia in Wednesday criticized her former opponent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp for his decision to start reopening parts of the state starting this week, saying it “makes no sense” because Georgia isn’t yet “flattening the curve.”
“The mayors of our largest cities have all expressed deep concern as have our scientists. Georgia is not flattening the curve. We have one of the highest rates of infection and one of the lowest rates of testing,” Abrams said on ABC’s The View Wednesday. “This makes no sense and it doesn’t improve our economy. It simply puts more Georgians at risk.”
On Monday, Kemp, who Abrams lost to in 2018, unveiled plans “to incrementally and safely reopen sectors” of the state’s economy, including gyms, barber shops and hail and nail salons and bowling alleys, starting Friday. Church services will also be allowed to start up again, but are expected to follow social distancing guidelines.
Of the more than 826,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, just over 20,000 are in Georgia, putting the state behind just 11 others on this metric, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The last time she appeared on The View in mid-February, the former Georgia state House minority leader said she “would be honored” to be chosen as vice president for whoever the nominee was, but during her interview Wednesday, she went further in outlining what she thinks qualifies her for the position.
The Biden campaign has yet to formally announce his vice presidential vetting committee, but the presumptive nominee has said that the committee would be announced in early May, and he expects the vetting process to continue into July. He’s said repeatedly that he would pick a woman for the veep slot.
Abrams, through her initiative Fair Fight 2020, is fighting to guarantee everyone who has the right to vote is able to fill out a ballot in this year’s elections. Through the multi-million dollar effort, Abrams has built up voter protection teams in 18 battleground states this cycle that work with the state Democratic parties to be a resource to voters and ensure election fairness.
Now, with the coronavirus pandemic, how voters safely participate in elections is of top concern in every state. More than a dozen states have postponed their presidential and/or statewide primary elections, and many have also made reforms like significantly expanding the ability to vote-by-mail.
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