18 women candidates to watch for the 2018 midterms

10. Stacey Abrams (D)

State: Georgia
Race: Governor
Platform highlights: Abrams, a former state representative for Georgia, has built up a campaign that focuses heavily on community building and social justice, a strong contrast to the gun-toting bravado of her opponent.

On the campaign trail, Abrams has focused on a few issues foremost in the minds of many Georgians. This includes affordable housing for all, which Abrams says she will support by creating a State Affordable Housing Trust Fund and offering opportunities for former prisoners and veterans.

She’s also pushing for “sensible” gun policies, which Abrams and her team define as including universal background checks, greater investment in mental health services, and more protections for victims of domestic violence.

Her other platforms include strengthening public schools, green energy initiatives, Medicaid expansion, income tax credits, and support for tax credits meant to attract film companies.

Why you should watch out for her: Abrams would become the African-American woman to become governor of any state. She would also become the first woman to govern Georgia. Her win the Democratic primary was also something of a surprise for some observers, given the cultural and social barriers in her way.

Like many other women running this season, Abrams is a Democrat facing a conservative Republican opponent. That would be Georgia’s current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp. He pretty handily won the state’s Republican primary, thanks in part to a thumbs-up by Donald Trump on Twitter. Trump wrote that Kemp has his “full and total endorsement,” which, depending on your political leanings and those of Georgia voters, is either a boon or a millstone around Kemp’s neck. Kemp, for his part, seemed happy to accept the praise.

Trump won Georgia’s votes in the 2016 presidential election by 12 points, one of the larger margins of that election night. Over the course of its electoral history, Georgia has swung from blue to red and back again. A win by Abrams could speak to Georgia’s growing status as a blue state after some very GOP-friendly politics.

Campaign website: www.staceyabrams.com