Candidate Comparison:

Georgia Governor

Stacey Abrams (D)

Brian Kemp (R)

Wages

Abrams strongly supports raising the minimum wage, asserting it “uplifts working families & stimulates the economy.”	Under Kemp, Georgia’s minimum wage for jobs not covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act has remained at $5.15, the lowest in the country.
Abrams champions workers, advocating for frontline workers during the pandemic. Her platform includes plans for ending wage theft and the misclassification of workers. It also includes establishing an equal pay task force to close the gender wage gap. [1]	Kemp promised a raise for low-income state employees, but his proposed state budget did not include enough funds to accomplish this. [2]

Paid Time Off & Sick Leave

Abrams supports ensuring paid parental leave. She has co-sponsored many bills requiring all employers to provide at least 56 hours of paid sick leave for all employees. Abrams is fighting against state laws that prevent local governments from mandating paid leave, a common tactic used to undermine better standards in cities and counties. [3]	While Kemp signed a measure granting state workers three weeks of paid parental leave, the state does not ensure all workers have access to paid sick and family leave. [4]

Health Care

Abrams has made health care a cornerstone of her campaign and consistently called for expanding Medicaid in Georgia. She has said that expanding Medicaid would be “the biggest economic development project in Georgia history” and asserted that it would create more than 60,000 jobs in rural Georgia and offer coverage to more than 500,000 additional Georgians. Abrams has also highlighted that expanding Medicaid would support rural hospitals and attract medical professionals. Additionally, Abrams’ health care plan includes requiring health plans doing business with the state to identify and address health care disparities in the state and would ensure those with “long COVID” are not discriminated against by health care providers.	During his time as Governor, Kemp has refused to expand Medicaid in the state and instead submitted an Affordable Care Act waiver plan that included a work requirement for Medicaid coverage. Despite claiming that this plan would enhance health care access for thousands of Georgians, Kemp’s own office estimated that more than 400,000 people would not meet the requirements and be left uninsured. The plan has since been rejected by President Biden’s administration.
During her time as a legislator, Abrams co-sponsored multiple bills to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. She also co-sponsored legislation that would have established the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace, a state health insurance exchange.	With Kemp’s support, Georgia was one of the 20 states joining a lawsuit aiming to strike down the Affordable Care Act and allowing insurance companies to stop covering individuals with pre-existing conditions. [6]
During her time as a legislator, Abrams co-sponsored multiple bills to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. She also co-sponsored legislation that would have established the Georgia Health Insurance Marketplace, a state health insurance exchange.

Economic Insecurity & Inflation

Abrams said, “inflation is a global issue” but that “here in Georgia we can start to address it by actually doing the job of giving people the resources they need” by increasing wages and ensuring Americans can keep more money in their pockets. [7]	Kemp has repeatedly blamed Democrats and the Biden administration for inflation and high gas prices. He has since temporarily suspended the state’s gas tax and and renewed the state of emergency for supply chain disruptions.
	As governor, Kemp has not taken any significant action to address the baby formula shortage. [8]

Unions & Labor

In 2013, Abrams criticized right-to-work legislation, saying it was “free rider” syndrome, and in 2021 she voiced support for Amazon workers in Alabama seeking to unionize. Abrams has also canceled a 2019 speaking event to support a local union in a labor dispute and joined the board of the WNBA players union. Additionally, she credited union workers as the force “at the core of Georgia’s evolution.”	Under Kemp, Georgia has remained a “right-to-work” state. [10]
In 2022, Abrams’ first campaign event was centered around a coalition of unions that had endorsed her, including the Georgia AFL-CIO, UFCW 1996, OPEIU, RWDSU, CWA Local 3204, SEIU-Workers United, IUPAT, and more. [9]

CHECK THE FACTS:

Twitter, @staceyabrams, 7/31/2017; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 4/15/2015]; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 9/4/2017; Georgia General Assembly, HB 360, 2/20/2013; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 5/19/2020; Stacey Abrams, accessed 4/15/2022; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 4/10/2018.
NCSL, accessed 11/19/2022; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 6/30/2020.
Georgia General Assembly, 1/26/2016; Georgia General Assembly, 2/9/2017; Stacey Abrams, Policy, accessed 4/15/2022; Stacy Abrams, Policy, 5/26/2022; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 1/13/2018]; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 10/4/2018.
Twitter, @staceyabrams, 10/4/2018.
Atlanta Journal Constitution, 4/1/2022; Atlanta Journal Constitution, 3/15/2022; Stacey Abrams, accessed 1/15/2022; Georgia General Assembly, HB 801, 1/26/2012; Georgia General Assembly, HB 823, 1/26/2016; NPR, 10/27/2021
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 12/23/2021; Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2/27/2018; CNBC, 10/16/2018.
WTXL, 3/18/2022.
Twitter, @BrianKempGA, 3/18/2022; Twitter, @BrianKempGA, 2/10/2022; Office of the Governor, Press Release, 5/26/2022; Twitter, @GovKemp, 3/18/2022.
Twitter, @staceyabrams, 3/4/2013; Twitter, @staceyabrams, 2/20/2021; Atlanta Journal Constitution, 1/19/2022.
Georgia Department of Labor, accessed 4/19/2022; Twitter, @GovKemp, 10/28/2021; Detroit News, 10/27/2021.