Primary Night 22 May 2018 BostonRed

In Georgia, Stacey Abrams trounced her opponent and will campaign this fall to become the first female African-American governor in history. In Kentucky, fighter pilot Amy McGrath proved her naysayers wrong when she upset Jim Gray, the former mayor of Lexington recruited by national Democrats.Politico

Georgia Democrats selected the first black woman to be a major party nominee for governor in the United States on Tuesday, choosing Stacey Abrams, a liberal former State House leader, who will test just how much the state’s traditionally conservative politics are shifting.African-Americans made up about 30 percent of the electorate, and nine in 10 gave their votes to Jason Carter, the Democratic nominee and a grandson of the former president Jimmy Carter.But nearly two-thirds of voters in 2014 were white, according to exit polls. Mr. Carter lost his race by eight percentage points — and a little more than 200,000 votes — to Mr. Deal. Ms. Abrams will have to drive minority turnout far higher, without losing ground among whites, to avoid Mr. Carter’s fate. NYT