VALDOSTA — Stacey Abrams made her second visit to Valdosta State University as part of her Early Vote Bus Tour.

An energetic crowd of more than 350 people gathered inside the Jennett Lecture Hall at the Dewar College of Education Wednesday evening to hear Georgia gubernatorial candidate and Democrat Abrams push her supporters to the polls.

“Our future is on the line,” Abrams said. “I need you to get out and vote early because voter suppression is real, and if you vote early, we can go through all of the kinks in the system.”

During the 45-minute rally, Abrams ran through her platform as her supporters shouted “Go blue” and held up signs that read “Abrams-Amico: We Are Georgia.”

Though most of her talking points were focused on all Georgians, she brought up the importance Medicaid expansion would have on the Lowndes County community and other rural areas similar to it.

“Lowndes County community pays more than $100 million in uncompensated care,” Abrams said. “Medicaid expansion will cut that number in half. By doing Medicaid expansion in Valdosta, we will invest in communities, create new jobs and make certain that people who have preventable diseases get the help and support they need so we can become a stronger, more productive community overall.”

City Councilwoman Vivian Miller-Cody attended, holding a large banner supporting Abrams for governor. She said Abrams is the best candidate to help the community she leads.

“What she says, she means,” Miller-Cody said. “She knows what it’s like to come from the bottom and go all the way to the top and make a difference in the state of Georgia. With her being (governor), we could see a difference in our community and every part of South Georgia.”

Abrams said her Republican opponent, Brian Kemp, would prefer to keep wasting money by trusting insurance companies when it comes to Georgia health care.

She also touched on college tuition and education funding, which the audience — a mix of VSU students and faculty and Valdosta community members — felt particularly enthusiastic about.

Abrams said when it comes to her opponent, the only plans he has for education are to put guns in schools. She criticized her opponent’s education platform, saying he wants to take money from public schools and put it into private schools, and he hasn’t spoken on bringing college costs down.

As governor, Abrams said her goals would be to invest in K-12 education and competitive wages for teachers, planning to educate the whole child in public school systems, creating 22,000 apprenticeships by 2020 and making college debt-free in Georgia. 

“I don’t want to be another education governor because we’ve seen how that turns out,” Abrams said. “I will be the public education governor of the great state of Georgia.”

Eric Burns, a VSU student, said he attended the event to show support for Abrams because she’s the only person for the job of running Georgia.

“I definitely want to turn Georgia blue because Stacey Abrams has what it takes to be governor,” Burns said. “Brian Kemp does not.”

Other speakers at the event included Democrat Janice Laws, running for Georgia’s insurance commissioner, and state Rep. Dexter Sharper. 

Abrams left swiftly after the event concluded to continue her bus tour, which took her through Thomasville Wednesday evening.

Katelyn Umholtz is a reporter with the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be contacted at (229)244-3400 ext. 1256.