Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is once again accusing Republicans of plotting to dismantle democracy, this time using redistricting in Tennessee as her latest vehicle for alarmist rhetoric.
Appearing on MS NOWs The Briefing, Abrams was invited by host Michael Steele to comment on redistricting in Memphis and broader GOP election reforms, as reported by Breitbart. Steele framed the issue around Tennessees Ninth Congressional District, saying, I just want out of the box. Just ask about Memphis, specifically where the ninth Congressional District, the one that the majority that was a majority black district, was completely erased. He added that protests over the map changes might galvanize not only Democrats, but independent and even some Republicans to vote, asking Abrams, Have you seen any evidence of that energy, either in Tennessee or in other states where Republicans have taken similar actions?
Abrams responded by casting routine legislative redistricting as an existential threat to the republic, declaring, I was there, I testified in front of the Senate committee, a committee that convened and passed a map. It had not yet drawn. She claimed that when the Senate minority leader, Raumesh Akbari, asked for a copy of the map and they said, well, we havent drawn it yet, but we know what were doing, Republicans were signaling a broader scheme to undermine minority voters and democratic institutions.
According to Abrams, GOP lawmakers are driven by racial hostility and a desire to upend the constitutional order, insisting, And as you pointed out, they intended to dismantle black voting power because they intend to dismantle democracy. She escalated further, arguing, And I think its so important that we recognize that while they target black voters for their animus, their intention is to dismantle democracy for all of us.
She portrayed Republicans as strategically targeting black communities first, saying, They just start with the community they think is the easiest to attack. Abrams then recounted her activism in Tennessee, noting, But what has always happened and what we saw happen that day, I testified that morning, but that evening I was in a church that was packed with more than 200 people whod gathered to protest those maps, but also to start planning what could they do in response?
Pushing a familiar narrative that equates GOP election integrity efforts with segregation-era oppression, Abrams asserted, And what we know is that its taken them 61 years to get what they wanted, which is a return to Jim Crow, a return to a moment where the 15th amendment didnt actually work for everyone in this country, but it took them 60 years to dismantle it. She closed with a call for rapid political mobilization, warning, We dont have 60 years to wait to rebuild it. Now is the time for us to believe that we not only have the power and the agency, we have the numbers.
Her remarks fit a broader pattern on the left of branding standard Republican redistricting and election-security measures as racist and anti-democratic, even as conservatives argue these reforms are necessary to protect ballot integrity and ensure fair representation. While Abrams continues to invoke Jim Crow and accuse Republicans of plotting to dismantle democracy, GOP leaders maintain that strengthening voter ID laws, updating voter rolls, and redrawing districts through elected legislatures are legitimate exercises of state authority, not an assault on civil rights.
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