Early voting began Monday in Georgia, and attention is turning to the front-runners for governor.
On the Republican ticket – Casey Cagle, Hunter Hill and Brian Kemp. On the Democratic side, it’s the battle of the Stacys between Stacy Evans and Stacy Abrams. But one of them is getting a lot of attention from Hollywood.
11Alive's Natisha Lance was at an Atlanta event for Abrams Monday night, where some of black Hollywood's most elite even hit the campaign trail with her.
On board an early voting bus tour, Golden Globe winner Tracee Ellis Ross, actress Rashida Jones, Emmy winner Uzo Aduba, and actress Aisha Hinds.
We've seen Hollywood invade our local elections before. Remember Jon Ossoff's campaign? Back then, some of the biggest names tweeted their support for the first-time candidate. Actress Alyssa Milano even offered rides to the polls. But it wasn't enough for him to clinch the seat.
So, will the endorsements from the stars be enough to clinch the nomination this time around? Abrams said this is a different race, with bigger stakes.
“One of the reasons I'm talking to people across the country is because Georgia is a national state. You can't get anywhere without going through Atlanta, you can't move any goods without going through Savannah, and we've spent a lot of money bringing Hollywood to Georgia,” Abrams said. “But more than that, Georgia is emblematic of what America should be and will be.”
Abrams' opponent, Stacey Evans, has run a more down-home campaign.
“I'm running for governor to be a champion for every family,” she said.
Where Evans may be lacking in celebrity endorsements, she makes up for with local support. Former Gov. Roy Barnes and the Georgia Federation of Teachers both back her.
But in what has been dubbed the “Battle of the Staceys,” both candidates running on the Democrat ticket have raised millions of dollars, with Abrams edging out Evans by a little more than $500,000.
One of the latest polls also gave Abrams a hefty lead over Evans, but there is still a lot of undecided votes yet to be claimed.
Whether those voters will be wooed by the glitz and glam of Hollywood or by deep-rooted local appeal will be decided by voters on Primary Election Day, May 22.
