As Biden Surpasses Trump in Georgia, Democrats Thank Stacey Abrams, Remember John Lewis

© Elijah Nouvelage / AFP/Getty Former US Representative and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams speaks at a Get Out the Vote rally with former US President Barack Obama as he campaigns for Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden on November 2, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia.

Social media users have thanked former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, and the late civil rights icon U.S. Rep. John Lewis, after Joe Biden’s vote count passed Donald Trump’s in the state.

As of Friday morning, Biden currently leads Trump by just under 1,000 votes with 99 percent of votes counted, according to The Associated Press’ election data. Georgia has not voted for a Democratic president since Bill Clinton in 1992. Trump needs to win Georgia to stand a chance of being re-elected.

As AP puts Biden on 264 electoral votes currently of the 270 needed, Georgia’s 16 on offer would put him into the White House. Other decision desks have Biden on 253 electoral votes. Sixteen more to Biden would, at best for Trump, mean a tie if the incumbent carries the remaining states. In this case, the next president will be decided in Congress.

Joe Biden Says, ‘Each Ballot Must Be Counted,’ Urges Public To Stay Calm As Votes Are Counted

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Stacey Abrams

In 2018, after narrowly losing the Georgia gubernatorial election to Republican Brian Kemp in a race which was dogged by allegations of voter suppression, Abrams launched the nonprofit Fair Fight to combat such issues.

Fair Fight went on to register an estimated 800,000 new voters in the next two years. It also raised around $32 million by October 2020 to help increase registration. Abrams previously founded the The New Georgia Project in 2013, which focused on registering minority voters in the state.

Discussing these new voters with NPR on November 2, Abrams said: “Of those numbers, what we are excited about is that 45 percent of those new voters are under the age of 30. Forty-nine percent are people of color. And all 800,000 came on the rolls after November ’18.”

Many on Twitter thanked Abrams for her work.

“No matter what happens next… Thank you, Georgia. Thank you, @staceyabrams. Thank you, Black people,” tweeted author and entrepreneur Arlan Hamilton.

Actress Shannon Woodward wrote: “November 6th should be Stacey Abrams day. Thank you for your tireless work. Wow.”

Twitter user Jaye Newton wrote: “GEORGIA WOULD NOT BE BLUE WITHOUT THE HARD WORK AND DEDICATION FROM THIS WOMAN. Give her the roses she deserves.”

John Lewis

People also paid tribute to former U.S. Rep for Georgia’s 5th district, John Lewis, who died on July 17 at the age of 80 after a lifetime of fighting for civil rights for Black people in the state and across the U.S.

People noted that it was votes counted on Friday morning in Clayton County, which is partly covered by the 5th district, that helped push Biden into the lead in Georgia.

“Clayton County voters give Biden the lead in Georgia. Georgia puts Biden over 270 Ev – electing him and defeating Trump. Clayton County is home county of John Lewis,” tweeted Jesse Ferguson, former Deputy National Press Secretary for 2016 Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. “The moral arc of the universe is long but does, indeed, bend towards justice.”

@Cleavon_MD tweeted: “On election day, Georgia honored former Georgia Rep. John Lewis by showing up to the polls and voting for @JoeBiden. I know he’s looking down from above with a smile. Rest in power.”

White House correspondent for The New York Times, Katie Rogers said: “Small theme of this election is Trump appearing to pay the price for relentlessly insulting late political opponents who were beloved at home. Trump had been trashing John Lewis and Clayton County since January 2017. And then there’s McCain.”

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