Stacey Abrams aims to recapture energy of first campaign

ATLANTA (AP) — For Stacey Abrams, everything is different this time.

Unlike her first campaign for Georgia governor in 2018, she enters Tuesday's primary election as the presumptive Democratic nominee, facing no competition. She's not the relatively unknown former state representative from the first campaign, but a leading advocate for voting rights, someone credited with laying the organizational groundwork for Joe Biden to become the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia in 28 years.

But the same dynamics that lifted Abrams to national prominence four years ago could be a vulnerability in the general election in November. With her rise, she has become a millionaire, something Republicans have highlighted to portray her as out of touch, even though both leading GOP candidates for governor are far wealthier. Donald Trump, who drove suburban moderates like those around Atlanta away from the GOP, is no longer in the White House. Instead, Biden is confronting the lowest approval numbers of his presidency, alarming Democrats who fear he could drag down candidates across the country.

If she's elected, the 48-year-old Abrams would make history as the first Black woman to lead a state. But to get there, she must tap into the energy that contributed to her rise while averting the newer crosscurrents that could work against her.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it: We have fundamental headwinds,” said Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams’ campaign manager. “We have a whole history where Democrats have trouble winning in midterms.”

Abrams' fate could hinge on whom Republicans choose as their nominee on Tuesday. If they side with incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp, the race would be a rematch of the bitter 2018 campaign, which Abrams lost by 1.4 percentage points. She was defiant at...