A number of politicians have been mulling a run to succeed termed-out Georgia GOP Gov. Nathan Deal, and we can add a familiar name to the list. Ex-state Sen. Jason Carter, a Democrat who lost to Deal 53-45 in 2014, recently said that “Trump’s victory certainly makes it more likely for me to run.” Carter, who is a grandson of Jimmy Carter, raised a credible amount of cash during his last bid and probably did about as well as any Democrat could have done during the GOP wave. (Democrat Michelle Nunn, a heavily touted candidate and strong fundraiser, lost her Senate race that year by the exact same margin.)
So far, the only other Democrat we’ve heard is interested in a 2018 gubernatorial bid is state Senate Minority Leader Stacey Abrams. While Abrams hasn’t said much publicly about her plans, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently wrote that she was “all but certain to run.” Abrams would start out less-well known than Carter if both ran, but she could have an edge if race plays a role in the primary. Abrams is African-American while Carter is white, and in recent years, black voters have made up a larger proportion of the Democratic primary electorate: In the 2016 presidential primary between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, 51 percent of voters were black and 38 percent white, according to exit polls.