Coates Credits Abrams for Georgia's Shift

Ta-Nehisi Coates praised Stacey Abrams's organizing work at a Rutgers event one day after the 2026 midterm elections.

Updated on Nov. 7, 2026 in Elections

Coates Credits Abrams for Georgia's Shift

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Author Ta-Nehisi Coates credited Stacey Abrams with organizing efforts that helped make Georgia politically competitive for Democrats. He made the remarks on November 4, 2026, at Rutgers University-Newark, recalling a 2015 meeting in which Abrams said she would turn Georgia blue.

Why it matters

Abrams's organizing is widely credited with helping Democrats become competitive in Georgia, a state that has grown more central to national elections. Her path shows how sustained voter registration and organizing can shift results even after statewide losses.

Abrams lost her gubernatorial campaigns in 2018 and 2022, while Georgia voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and Democrats later won both U.S. Senate seats in runoff elections. The extraction does not isolate how much of that shift is attributable to Abrams's organizing.

The players

Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a prominent American author and journalist known for writing on race, politics, and American history.

Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams is a Georgia Democrat known for voter registration work and for her gubernatorial campaigns in 2018 and 2022.

James Jones

James Jones is a Rutgers professor who directs the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America.

The details

Coates recalled a 2015 backstage meeting in which Abrams, then minority leader in Georgia's House of Representatives, told him she would turn the state blue. He spoke at an event hosted by the Sheila Y. Oliver Center for Politics and Race in America, moderated by center director and Rutgers professor James Jones.

2015: Coates meets Abrams backstage after his book's publication.
2018: Abrams loses her first gubernatorial campaign.
2020: Georgia votes for Joe Biden in the presidential election.
2022: Abrams loses her second gubernatorial campaign.
November 4, 2026: Coates speaks at Rutgers University-Newark.

Political Context

Coates's credit to Abrams is framed against Georgia's 2020 vote for Joe Biden and the 2021 Senate runoff wins, which together marked the state's turn toward Democrats. Abrams's losses in 2018 and 2022 show that the shift came through organizing rather than a single statewide victory.

For voters in Georgia and across the country, the episode shows how sustained voter registration and organizing can change which party is competitive in a state over several election cycles. Readers following future state contests can track the same organizing patterns in their own areas.

The takeaway

Sustained organizing can shift a state's partisan competitiveness even after statewide defeats, as Abrams's record in Georgia illustrates. Voters who want to understand these changes can watch registration and turnout trends over multiple cycles rather than single results.