Beto O’Rourke this week claimed, without evidence (because there is none), that failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams was robbed of the governor’s mansion in 2018.
This is a lie, of course, and a contemptible one that undermines our democracy. But at least it is a step up from the former congressman’s campaign attempts to make his response to mass shootings go viral.
“A man from Georgia asked me what I will do about voting rights,” read the former Texas congressman and 2020 Democratic primary candidate’s Twitter feed Thursday evening. “That’s because, were it not for voter suppression, Stacey Abrams would be governor right now. We need a New Voting Rights Act, so every voice is heard and every vote is counted.”
A man from Georgia asked me what I will do about voting rights.
That’s because, were it not for voter suppression, Stacey Abrams would be governor right now.
We need a New Voting Rights Act, so every voice is heard and every vote is counted. pic.twitter.com/miXl7Xkq2n
— Beto O’Rourke (@BetoORourke) September 6, 2019
Any minute now, journalists will swarm the 2020 Democratic candidate with denunciations of his dangerous attack on democracy. Any minute now, reporters and commentators will demand indignantly that the former congressman correct the record because the truth “is more important now than ever.”
Just kidding! None of that is going to happen. The press have allowed this lie to go unchallenged since its first appearance in 2018. It doesn’t hurt that Beto is polling at about 2.1% and might not deserve the attention of a fact check, anyway.
Still, let’s go through the facts of the case again, because the press will not and because this is the lie that will not die.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp won the 2018 gubernatorial election with 50.2% of the vote, compared to Abrams’ 48.8%. She lost by approximately 54,723 votes.
An estimated 3.9 million votes were cast in Georgia during the 2018 midterms. This marks an astonishing increase from the 2.5 million votes cast in the midterm of 2014, in which there was actually a competitive Senate race, believe it or not. In fact, almost as many Georgians voted in 2018 as voted in the 2016 presidential election, which is nearly unheard of for a midterm. Further, non-white voters in Georgia made up an all-time high 40% of last year’s vote total, with three-quarters of those votes cast by black voters. The previous record for non-white voter turnout in the state of Georgia had been 36% in 2014. Before that, the all-time high had been a measly 18% in 1994.
This leaves Beto, Elizabeth Warren, Pete Buttigieg and others in the ludicrous position of arguing that voter suppression in Georgia simultaneously permitted record black turnout and caused Abrams to lose by 54,723 votes.
Meanwhile, we have repeatedly debunked the associated conspiracy theories about vote suppression tactics. These conspiracy theories included then-Secretary of State Kemp’s supposed involvement in closing polling places (Democratic local officials made those calls to save money); supposedly excessive purges of former and deceased residents from voter rolls (a large number of purges came all at once because a long-running lawsuit over regular, smaller purges had just ended); and power cords that went missing at one busy polling place on election day (they were quickly found, and no one has ever credibly claimed they were stolen or hidden on purpose).
So yes, what Beto said is false. It’s also harmful to democracy, just like when any other candidate refuses to admit a rightful defeat.
