Stacey Abrams Says 'Race Plays a Part' in Hype for Beto Over Herself and Andrew Gillum

[Awsi Dooger]

24. Challenge accepted

* Beto ran in a federal race, which is considerably more rigid along party and ideological lines than the statewide races of Abrams and Gillum

* Beto tried to unseat an incumbent who had fundraised and strategized toward re-election for 6 years, a much more difficult task than Abrams or Gillum trying to win open races

* Beto ran in a more conservative state. Texas has 44% self-identified conservatives at base level, compared to 42% in Georgia and 36% in Florida

* Beto survived the attacks and emerged with a 52-42 favorable approval rating in the exit poll. In contrast, 46% of Floridians rejected Gillum as too liberal for the state, and likewise 41% in Georgia indicated Abrams was too liberal for the state.

* Those numbers of 46% and 41% are absolutely dreadful. It is very, very, very rare that anyone reaches 37% or above in that "too liberal" category. It basically means that not many people who didn't vote for Gillum or Abrams even considered them at all. Abrams and Gillum were simply overhyped. Abrams had a slightly underwater favorable number of 48-49 in the Georgia exit poll, compared to Beto's very positive 52-42 in Texas