Abrams, Kemp sharpen attacks on abortion, crime in last debate before midterm election

The debate was held the night before new polling was released showing Kemp hovering just above the 50% threshold needed to avoid a runoff in the Nov. 8 election. But the race has also tightened since the last Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia poll in early October. (Georgia Recorder file photos)

Gov. Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams sparred over abortion access and other key issues in the last debate before Georgia voters finish casting their ballots in this year’s midterm election.

Most notably, a lengthy exchange during WSB-TV’s debate led to the most substantive discussion on the issue of abortion between two candidates who hold vastly different views.

Kemp has largely avoided the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this summer, paving the way for Georgia’s restrictive abortion legislation – which Kemp signed into law in 2019 – to take effect.