Nov 8, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Stacey Abrams: Harris breaking VP barriers shows "face of leadership does change"

Orion Rummler

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams told CNN on Sunday that seeing Sen. Kamala Harris elected as the country's first woman, Black American and Indian American vice president "signals that the face of leadership does change."

The state of play: Democrats have lauded Abram's effort to boost voter turnout as a driving force behind Biden outperforming Trump in Georgia, per the Washington Post. She has been credited with registering roughly 800,000 new voters in Georgia through Fair Fight Action, an organization she founded after losing a contested 2018 gubernatorial race.

What she's saying: "It is a privilege in this nation to be able to see yourself reflected in the face of leadership," she told CNN's Jake Tapper.

"And for both the African American community and the Indian American community, and for women of color writ large, Kamala Harris' election signals that the face of leadership does change. That we do have a role to play beyond being supporters and advocates and agitants, that we can be the leaders of this country."

The big picture: When asked what Democrats need to work on to attract more minority voters — particularly Latinos in states like Florida — Abrams stressed "consistent engagement" with minority communities and said that Democrats had been doing that work "from the very beginning."

What to watch: No winner has been declared in either of Georgia's two Senate races. Control of the Senate now hinges on two runoff elections in January.

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Stacey Abrams: Harris breaking VP barriers shows "face of leadership does change"

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