Georgia primary: Hillary Clinton backs Stacey Abrams who could become first black female governor

The state primary takes place tomorrow

Former Georgia General Assembly member Stacey Abrams has gotten an endorsement from Hillary Clinton for her run for governor. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Hillary Clinton has picked Stacy Abrams to endorse in the US state of Georgia governor race just one day ahead of the Democratic primary.

Ms Clinton recorded an automated political campaign phone message for Ms Abrams, who is looking to become the first female, black governor in US history.

The former Secretary of State and erstwhile opponent of US President Donald Trump said on the call that Ms Abrams, “a Yale-educated attorney...is the only candidate with bold new plans to ensure Georgians have access to good jobs, quality public schools, affordable child care and higher educations”.

Ms Abrams is going up against another woman, named Stacey Evans, for the party’s nomination. Both women are former state legislators, lawyers, and have similar left-leaning progressive platforms.

As NPR reported: “But Stacey Abrams is black. And Stacey Evans is white. The colour of their skin is the most obvious, if not superficial, difference between the two women”.

No Democrat has won the state governor or Senate race in more than a decade. In 2014, Democratic nominees for both lost their races by more than 200,000 votes.

Ms Abrams said there is one other major difference between she and Ms Evans: "Political analysts keep looking at not only what the structure of Georgia is, but they're also looking at the playbook that was used in Georgia, and that's an old playbook. It's an old playbook that never invested in any of these communities of colour in Georgia”.

She had launched her campaign in the southwestern, majority-black part of the state.

Ms Abrams has also gotten endorsements from other nationally-prominent Democrats like Senators Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Independent Senator Bernie Sanders.

Ms Clinton is also expected to endorse Democrat Andrew Cuomo in the New York gubernatorial primary race. Critics were disappointed she did not throw her political clout behind Cynthia Nixon. The former Sex and the City actress is vying to become the state’s first female and lesbian governor. Ms Nixon could still make a run for the office should she run on an independent party ticket.

Georgia has been part of a few states Democrats have sought to challenge Republican domination.

The state’s largest city Atlanta saw a tough race of national interest for a Congressional seat between Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel. Though Mr Ossoff lost, he is thought to have started momentum in the state for the left.

Last year in Alabama, Democratic Senator Doug Jones defeated GOP favourite Roy Moore after the latter was accused of sexual misconduct.

According to a local NBC News poll, Ms Evans trailed Ms Abrams by 19 per cent, with 33 per cent of Democrats in the state saying they were undecided. The election is set to take place on 23 May.