Stacey Abrams Wins Primary in Bid to Be the First Black Female Governor

Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams won the Democratic nomination for Georgia's top office on Tuesday, defeating ex-state Rep. Stacey Evans and advancing her quest to become the nation's first black female governor. She will face one of five Republicans in November in the race to succeed Gov. Nathan Deal, a competition that will test whether the state is truly competitive after more than a decade of GOP rule. Abrams attracted national attention, big-name endorsements and millions of dollars in outside spending with her "unapologetic progressive" platform to flip the Georgia governor's office for the first time since 2002. But she overcame a stiff challenge from Evans, who tried to frame herself as the more ardent progressive. Evans fueled her campaign with nearly $2 million of her own money, pummeling Abrams with criticism for supporting a 2011 Republican-backed measure that cut awards to Georgia's HOPE scholarship for college students.