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Nobody on the right paid attention to the former President or Oprah (who is generally popular to the right and left, just not her politics).
Maybe the state's conservatives might not have necessarily paid as much attention just to the appearance of former President Obama alone.
But the appearance of Oprah Winfrey at that Stacey Abrams rally in Marietta was definitely an attention-grabbing event for many conservatives, both here in Georgia and across the nation.
There were many conservatives who understandably genuinely seemed to have taken firm notice of Oprah's high-profile endorsement of Stacey Abrams in the days leading up to Election Day.
President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence seemed to take notice and held a couple of really big rallies for Brian Kemp in outer-exurban parts of the state (in Northwest Georgia and in Middle Georgia) over the next few days that followed... Rallies that likely were at least in part motivated by Oprah's rally appearance and endorsement of Abrams.
Mike Pence even specifically mentioned Oprah's endorsement of Abrams and notably responded by saying "You know, I'm kind of a big deal, too!" at a rally for Brian Kemp in Northwest Georgia the next day.
Quote:
Vice President Mike Pence, on the campaign trail with Republican Georgia gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, said "I'm kind of a big deal too" in response to the Hollywood celebrities flooding the state to support the Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams.
Nobody on the right paid attention to the former President or Oprah (who is generally popular to the right and left, just not her politics).
Anecdotal observation from afar just seeing my Facebook feed, but I have to disagree. The Oprah appearance sparked outrage amongst many of my right of center friends on FB and the posts calling on people to elect a Georgian that isn't influenced by Hollywood interests went thru the roof.
Anecdotal observation from afar just seeing my Facebook feed, but I have to disagree. The Oprah appearance sparked outrage amongst many of my right of center friends on FB and the posts calling on people to elect a Georgian that isn't influenced by Hollywood interests went thru the roof.
I think it was a mistake on Abrams’ part at that late point. It seemed very opportunistic and I do believe it rallied the conservative vote more than it helped get out the vote for her.
I think it was a mistake on Abrams’ part at that late point. It seemed very opportunistic and I do believe it rallied the conservative vote more than it helped get out the vote for her.
I think that it should also be noted that Oprah was not the only big name figure on the left that appeared at rallies for Stacey Abrams.
Former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic U.S. senators Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, etc, were amongst the other big-name progressive figures that came to Georgia to rally for Stacey Abrams.
It's just that Oprah Winfrey appeared to be the BIGGEST of the big-name progressive figures that came to Georgia to rally for Abrams.
Also, it should be noted that it was Oprah Winfrey that reached out to the Abrams campaign to offer to come to Georgia and rally for Stacey Abrams, not the other way around as many seem to think.
And while Oprah's appearance for Abrams seemed to rile up conservatives, including to the point that Donald Trump responded by holding two large rallies for Kemp (one led by Vice President Mike Pence in Dalton/Northwest Georgia and one led by Trump himself in Macon/Middle Georgia) in the following days just before Election Day, I really cannot blame Stacey Abrams for letting Oprah come and appear at a rally for her in Georgia.
That's because, one, I think that Abrams and the Democrats got a lot more mileage out of Oprah's rally appearance than they might have might have been hurt by it.
Remember, it was Donald Trump who held the two rallies in outer-exurban Georgia (Dalton and Macon) in support of Kemp in response to Oprah's appearance at the Abrams rally.
While many conservative voters might have been angered by Oprah's appearance at the Abrams rally, it likely was Donald Trump's continued active involvement in the race (by way of two large rallies for Kemp and continued tweets in support of Kemp) that helped to energize conservative voters enough to help Brian Kemp get over the finish line.
Also, I cannot really blame Stacey Abrams for letting Oprah come and appear at that rally for her in Marietta because Oprah is a transcendent personality in American life whom many (if not most) politicians would be hesitant to say no to.
Many politicians would be hesitant to say no to Oprah because the last politician that Oprah supported (Barack Obama) went on to be elected to two terms as President of the United States.
Even in a state as decidedly conservative as Georgia is and continues to be, the active support of and an endorsement by a personality as massive as Oprah goes a long way.
Oprah's appearance at the rally for Abrams just days before Election Day also played directly into the continuing strategy by the Abrams campaign to heavily utilize help from outside progressive interests (particularly from Democrats and progressives in areas like the Northeast and the West Coast) in an attempt to lift Georgia Democrats in a race that was already going to be extremely heavily nationalized with the heavy involvement of Donald Trump on behalf of Brian Kemp on the right side of the political spectrum.
In addition to knowing that the 2018 gubernatorial election was likely to be heavily nationalized around support and opposition for Donald Trump, Stacey Abrams and many younger Georgia Democrats and progressives wanted to lean heavily on the support of outside Democratic and progressive surrogates and donors on the coasts as a means of attempting to lift a Georgia Democratic Party that had sunken into a state of total oblivion since losing the 2002 gubernatorial race... A Georgia Democratic Party that at one point in early 2013 only had about $10,000 on hand after years of no fundraising efforts whatsoever.
Despite losing the 2018 gubernatorial election, Georgia Democrats still managed to attract nearly 800,000 more votes than what they attracted in the 2014 gubernatorial election and got to within 1.5 percentage points.
Stacey Abrams also attracted more than 1.92 million votes (which is the second-highest amount of votes that a gubernatorial candidate has attracted in Georgia's history) and received just under 49% of the vote, which is the highest percentage of the vote that a Democratic gubernatorial candidate has received since Roy Barnes won the 1998 gubernatorial election with 52.5% of the vote.
So even though Georgia Democrats might have lost the 2018 gubernatorial election, Stacey Abrams' strategy of nationalizing the race on the part of Democrats and progressives by having the support of national progressive figures like an Oprah Winfrey (as frowned upon as it may have been by Georgia conservatives) still seemed to help to lift Georgia Democrats out of the severe political doldrums that they were mired in during the early part of the decade of the 2010's.
"The election is over with. Politics is a tough business, but campaigns and elections are about the future,” he said. “We’re moving on, and we’re focused on the future.”
"It's time to leave the divisive politics of the past behind us and focus on Georgia's bright and promising future," Kemp said during his press conference.
Kemp's short press conference remained sparse on answers to questions posed by reporters about plans for his upcoming administration, though he said he did plan to address rural healthcare, an issue he skirted during his campaign.
I think that it should also be noted that Oprah was not the only big name figure on the left that appeared at rallies for Stacey Abrams.
Former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic U.S. senators Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, etc, were amongst the other big-name progressive figures that came to Georgia to rally for Stacey Abrams.
It's just that Oprah Winfrey appeared to be the BIGGEST of the big-name progressive figures that came to Georgia to rally for Abrams.
Also, it should be noted that it was Oprah Winfrey that reached out to the Abrams campaign to offer to come to Georgia and rally for Stacey Abrams, not the other way around as many seem to think.
And while Oprah's appearance for Abrams seemed to rile up conservatives, including to the point that Donald Trump responded by holding two large rallies for Kemp (one led by Vice President Mike Pence in Dalton/Northwest Georgia and one led by Trump himself in Macon/Middle Georgia) in the following days just before Election Day, I really cannot blame Stacey Abrams for letting Oprah come and appear at a rally for her in Georgia.
That's because, one, I think that Abrams and the Democrats got a lot more mileage out of Oprah's rally appearance than they might have might have been hurt by it.
Remember, it was Donald Trump who held the two rallies in outer-exurban Georgia (Dalton and Macon) in support of Kemp in response to Oprah's appearance at the Abrams rally.
While many conservative voters might have been angered by Oprah's appearance at the Abrams rally, it likely was Donald Trump's continued active involvement in the race (by way of two large rallies for Kemp and continued tweets in support of Kemp) that helped to energize conservative voters enough to help Brian Kemp get over the finish line.
Also, I cannot really blame Stacey Abrams for letting Oprah come and appear at that rally for her in Marietta because Oprah is a transcendent personality in American life whom many (if not most) politicians would be hesitant to say no to.
Many politicians would be hesitant to say no to Oprah because the last politician that Oprah supported (Barack Obama) went on to be elected to two terms as President of the United States.
Even in a state as decidedly conservative as Georgia is and continues to be, the active support of and an endorsement by a personality as massive as Oprah goes a long way.
Oprah's appearance at the rally for Abrams just days before Election Day also played directly into the continuing strategy by the Abrams campaign to heavily utilize help from outside progressive interests (particularly from Democrats and progressives in areas like the Northeast and the West Coast) in an attempt to lift Georgia Democrats in a race that was already going to be extremely heavily nationalized with the heavy involvement of Donald Trump on behalf of Brian Kemp on the right side of the political spectrum.
In addition to knowing that the 2018 gubernatorial election was likely to be heavily nationalized around support and opposition for Donald Trump, Stacey Abrams and many younger Georgia Democrats and progressives wanted to lean heavily on the support of outside Democratic and progressive surrogates and donors on the coasts as a means of attempting to lift a Georgia Democratic Party that had sunken into a state of total oblivion since losing the 2002 gubernatorial race... A Georgia Democratic Party that at one point in early 2013 only had about $10,000 on hand after years of no fundraising efforts whatsoever.
Despite losing the 2018 gubernatorial election, Georgia Democrats still managed to attract nearly 800,000 more votes than what they attracted in the 2014 gubernatorial election and got to within 1.5 percentage points.
Stacey Abrams also attracted more than 1.92 million votes (which is the second-highest amount of votes that a gubernatorial candidate has attracted in Georgia's history) and received just under 49% of the vote, which is the highest percentage of the vote that a Democratic gubernatorial candidate has received since Roy Barnes won the 1998 gubernatorial election with 52.5% of the vote.
So even though Georgia Democrats might have lost the 2018 gubernatorial election, Stacey Abrams' strategy of nationalizing the race on the part of Democrats and progressives by having the support of national progressive figures like an Oprah Winfrey (as frowned upon as it may have been by Georgia conservatives) still seemed to help to lift Georgia Democrats out of the severe political doldrums that they were mired in during the early part of the decade of the 2010's.
Biden, Obama, Sanders, etc. are all politicians, as are Trump (now) and Pence. For them to stump for another candidate in their party is fairly typical. As you mentioned, the ultra progressive Booker and Warren also lent their support.
How Oprah approached it, to paraphrase - “I was minding my own business sitting at home in California and decided one morning sitting in my silk hand woven PJs (one of my favorite things) and after eating my vegan chef-prepared breakfast and drinking my fair trade hand ground espresso that I wanted Abrams to win. She would be the first female African-American governor in history, so I flew in on my private jet to use my star power to get minorities and women out to vote for her”.
Abrams came close, in a midterm where Trump is extremely polarizing and not exactly loved by the electorate. If he runs in 2020 that playbook may work again, but I’m not so sure that it will work for Abrams.
I think that it should also be noted that Oprah was not the only big name figure on the left that appeared at rallies for Stacey Abrams.
Former President Barack Obama, former Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic U.S. senators Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, etc, were amongst the other big-name progressive figures that came to Georgia to rally for Stacey Abrams.
It's just that Oprah Winfrey appeared to be the BIGGEST of the big-name progressive figures that came to Georgia to rally for Abrams.
Also, it should be noted that it was Oprah Winfrey that reached out to the Abrams campaign to offer to come to Georgia and rally for Stacey Abrams, not the other way around as many seem to think.
And while Oprah's appearance for Abrams seemed to rile up conservatives, including to the point that Donald Trump responded by holding two large rallies for Kemp (one led by Vice President Mike Pence in Dalton/Northwest Georgia and one led by Trump himself in Macon/Middle Georgia) in the following days just before Election Day, I really cannot blame Stacey Abrams for letting Oprah come and appear at a rally for her in Georgia.
That's because, one, I think that Abrams and the Democrats got a lot more mileage out of Oprah's rally appearance than they might have might have been hurt by it.
Remember, it was Donald Trump who held the two rallies in outer-exurban Georgia (Dalton and Macon) in support of Kemp in response to Oprah's appearance at the Abrams rally.
While many conservative voters might have been angered by Oprah's appearance at the Abrams rally, it likely was Donald Trump's continued active involvement in the race (by way of two large rallies for Kemp and continued tweets in support of Kemp) that helped to energize conservative voters enough to help Brian Kemp get over the finish line.
Also, I cannot really blame Stacey Abrams for letting Oprah come and appear at that rally for her in Marietta because Oprah is a transcendent personality in American life whom many (if not most) politicians would be hesitant to say no to.
Many politicians would be hesitant to say no to Oprah because the last politician that Oprah supported (Barack Obama) went on to be elected to two terms as President of the United States.
Even in a state as decidedly conservative as Georgia is and continues to be, the active support of and an endorsement by a personality as massive as Oprah goes a long way.
Oprah's appearance at the rally for Abrams just days before Election Day also played directly into the continuing strategy by the Abrams campaign to heavily utilize help from outside progressive interests (particularly from Democrats and progressives in areas like the Northeast and the West Coast) in an attempt to lift Georgia Democrats in a race that was already going to be extremely heavily nationalized with the heavy involvement of Donald Trump on behalf of Brian Kemp on the right side of the political spectrum.
In addition to knowing that the 2018 gubernatorial election was likely to be heavily nationalized around support and opposition for Donald Trump, Stacey Abrams and many younger Georgia Democrats and progressives wanted to lean heavily on the support of outside Democratic and progressive surrogates and donors on the coasts as a means of attempting to lift a Georgia Democratic Party that had sunken into a state of total oblivion since losing the 2002 gubernatorial race... A Georgia Democratic Party that at one point in early 2013 only had about $10,000 on hand after years of no fundraising efforts whatsoever.
Despite losing the 2018 gubernatorial election, Georgia Democrats still managed to attract nearly 800,000 more votes than what they attracted in the 2014 gubernatorial election and got to within 1.5 percentage points.
Stacey Abrams also attracted more than 1.92 million votes (which is the second-highest amount of votes that a gubernatorial candidate has attracted in Georgia's history) and received just under 49% of the vote, which is the highest percentage of the vote that a Democratic gubernatorial candidate has received since Roy Barnes won the 1998 gubernatorial election with 52.5% of the vote.
So even though Georgia Democrats might have lost the 2018 gubernatorial election, Stacey Abrams' strategy of nationalizing the race on the part of Democrats and progressives by having the support of national progressive figures like an Oprah Winfrey (as frowned upon as it may have been by Georgia conservatives) still seemed to help to lift Georgia Democrats out of the severe political doldrums that they were mired in during the early part of the decade of the 2010's.
I don’t think rallying the base on either side was the problem with Oprah. I think that the problem was with rallying the middle—the middle in Georgia is white, and for the most part probably do like Oprah, and are probably ok with Obama and Abrams. But the unintentional(?) optics of the (largely sympathetic) news media was to show Oprah, Obama and Abrams in the stumping for Abrams clips—Obama and Oprah eclipsed the optics of having major white figures supporting Abrams—I think that hurt her with a portion of whites that was considering her. She had done a good job with her ads, making the race less racial, but I think that the optics of her two most visible/famous surrogates being black hurt her.
I don’t think rallying the base on either side was the problem with Oprah. I think that the problem was with rallying the middle—the middle in Georgia is white, and for the most part probably do like Oprah, and are probably ok with Obama and Abrams. But the unintentional(?) optics of the (largely sympathetic) news media was to show Oprah, Obama and Abrams in the stumping for Abrams clips—Obama and Oprah eclipsed the optics of having major white figures supporting Abrams—I think that hurt her with a portion of whites that was considering her. She had done a good job with her ads, making the race less racial, but I think that the optics of her two most visible/famous surrogates being black hurt her.
The press certainly made it an issue of “first woman black governor”, again, and again, and again. The articles focused more on that than her message.
It reminded me of the same treatment for Hillary.
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