Abrams’ visibility, armed with the resources to build on her successes in 2020 and 2021, may alone be enough to drive up enough Democratic votes next year to help reelect Warnock, even with new limits. But Republicans are well aware if Abrams herself is a candidate — again — to become the first black woman governor ever in the country, that she will have a much better chance of succeeding this time.
The losses on Jan. 5 for Loeffler and former Sen. David Perdue, even more so than Biden’s win in November, underscored for Republicans the progress Abrams had made in cultivating a broader, more energized Democratic electorate.
Non-college whites turned out on Nov. 3 for Trump and Perdue and Loeffler, but a dropoff in their runoff turnout, combined with a surge in black turnout on Jan. 5, brought Jon Ossoff and Warnock to victory. A total of 228,000 voters participated in the January runoffs who had not voted in November.
According to a New York Times analysis, runoff turnout in precincts where black voters make up 80% or more of the voters was at 93% of general election turnout while white, non-college precincts saw turnout fall to 87% of November’s numbers.
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