Candidates for governor accuse each other of lying in final debate before election

MIDTOWN, Ga. - Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams took shots at one another inside a chilly TV studio in Midtown Sunday night during their final debate before the votes are counted.

The issues discussed ranged from the state of Georgia’s economy to abortion.

"It looks like this debate is going to be a lot like the last one," Gov. Kemp said. "Mrs. Abrams is going to attack my record because she doesn’t want to talk about her own record."

When asked about a surge in violent crime, Abrams blamed in part Kemp’s controversial law that allows gun owners to openly carry their guns in public without a permit.

"Under his four years, violent crime has gone up," Abrams said. "Gun violence has gone up. Guns are the number one killer of our children. We have the ninth-highest gun violence rate in the nation."

She said as a result of the open carry law, the state’s economy missed out on big events like Music Midtown.

In turn, Kemp said he believed that Abrams’ progressive policies would just make crime rates worse.

(Via WSB-TV)

"It’s Ms. Abrams that has said that she wants to defund the police," Kemp said. "She wants to eliminate cash bail and have get-out-of-jail-free cards."

Abrams then accused Kemp of deceiving voters about her stance.

"I believe in public safety. I did not say nor do I believe in defunding the police," she said. "He is lying again."

Univision 34 Atlanta anchor Michelle Benitez, WSB-TV reporter Richard Elliot, and the station’s public affairs director Condace Pressley also questioned the candidate on issues ranging from affordable housing to the state’s record-high employment rate.

"People’s salaries are going up," Kemp said. "The problem is their salaries aren’t going up fast enough to keep up with Joe Biden‘s inflation."

Abrams said that Kemp’s economic policies favor the wealthy elite.

(Via WSB-TV)

"People are feeling economic pain. Unfortunately under the governor, the economic pain is only getting worse," she said.

When asked about abortion, Kemp declined to say whether he would sign further legislation that would restrict access or penalize women seeking one.

"I’m not going to say yes or no to any particular piece of legislation without seeing what it’s doing," Kemp said.

At the end of the debate, Abrams acknowledged her deficit in the polls. The latest FOX 5/InsiderAdvantage poll conducted on Thursday showed Kemp with a nine-point lead in the race.

"The polls do not see you, but I do," she said. "And the only poll that matters is the poll at the ballot box."

With election day a little more than a week away, a whopping 1.6 million voters in Georgia have turned out to cast their ballots early.

Win or lose, both Kemp and Abrams pledged on the debate stage to accept the results of the election.