On a campaign stop in Statesboro Friday, Stacy Abrams made sure two messages stood out to the enthusiastic crowd: She will be a better governor for the people of Georgia than incumbent Brian Kemp and to vote, and encourage everyone, friends and foes, to vote, as well.

About 150 people gathered under a warm sun near the railroad tracks east of Statesboro City Hall to hear Abrams and Democrat secretary of state candidate Bee Nguyen make their cases why voters should pick them over their Republican opponents.

Stepping off the parked One Georgia bus adorned with her own photo, Abrams said to the cheering crowd:

“It’s great to be back in the great city of Statesboro. It’s great to be back in Bulloch County. And the next time I come, I plan to come back as the governor of Georgia.”

Abrams and Kemp faced off in the 2018 election, with Kemp winning a narrow victory. In his campaign for re-election, Kemp is emphasizing the state's strong economy and his efforts to put cash in the hands of voters.

But Abrams argued Friday that Kemp has left too many less well-off Georgians behind at the same time he has “built the economy with their hard work.”

“We can do this in the state of Georgia,” Abrams said. “We don’t have to raise taxes. We just have to raise our expectations and raise up a new generation of leadership who has the sense to believe in Georgia.

“We need a governor who’s going to invest in our small businesses the same way he likes to give money to big corporations.”

Abrams spoke about rising crime in the state and claimed her opponent was not addressing gun violence.

“We need the freedom to be safe in Georgia,” she said. “Now the governor is going to tell you lies. I don’t want your guns. I know how to use one. My great-grandmother Moo-Moo taught me. I know how to shoot.

“Under this governor we have seen our gun laws weaken. He banned one of the background checks keeping us safe. Georgia has the ninth highest gun violence rate in the nation. A gun violence rate that has gone up under Brian Kemp. Gun violence is the number one killer of our children.

“I’m telling you he’s given you a false choice. We can protect the second amendment and second-graders at the exact same time.”

Abrams said Kemp’s signing-into-law of a bill that significantly restricts abortion rights puts the “government in the office of a woman’s doctor.”

“If you are a woman, he has attacked our freedom to choose,” Abrams said. “… The law he signed means that women could be investigated for having a miscarriage. Imagine having a miscarriage and having the sheriff knock on your door.”

Abrams spoke about Kemp’s decision not to expand Medicaid in relation to Monday’s closing of the Atlanta Medical Center, a 460-bed hospital that was founded as Georgia Baptist Hospital more than 120 years ago.

“It is the sixth hospital to shut down under one governor.”

Abrams pointed to the examples of Republican governors in Indiana – Mike Pence, and New Jersey – Chris Christie, as accepting Medicaid expansion as part of the Affordable Care Act that helped create tens of thousands of jobs in each state and kept hospitals open.

Abrams said she would accept Medicaid expansion funds if elected.

“Medicaid expansion is more than just health care for the poor,” Abrams said. “It is how our veterans who are being denied VA benefits get the health care they need. It’s how the disabled get the help they need. It’s how we take 7,000 people out of institutions and back into their homes. It is how working families take care of each other.”

Early voting ended Friday in Georgia, with the secretary of state’s office expecting a record 2.4 million total votes to have been cast prior to Election Day on Tuesday.

Abrams closed Friday’s rally urging her supporters to “vote, vote vote.”

“If you have a friend who has not voted, you need to find that friend,” Abrams said, asking for the crowd to put five fingers in the air. “If you can put five on it. If you get me five more votes, we can win this election. If you don’t know who to call, I’ll tell you: Call people you’re mad at. Call people who are mad at you. Call people you owe money. Call people who owe you money. Call people you broke up with. Call people you want to get with.”