Abrams seeks to tie Kemp to Herschel Walker at final Georgia debate

In Georgia's final gubernatorial debate, Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams sought to attack incumbent GOP Gov. Brian Kemp's controversial social policies in a rematch for the job that has appeared less competitive than their 2018 race — and even to tie him to his embattled counterpart in the state's high-stakes Senate race, Herschel Walker.

Why it matters: With polling averages continuing to show Abrams trailing Kemp, the candidates' final debate posed one more opportunity for the Democratic challenger to change the perception that momentum is not on her side while onstage alongside him.

Abrams finished her closing remarks by alluding to that perception: "I want you to know that polls do not see you, but I do. And the only poll that matters, is the poll at the ballot box."

Her campaign has consistently rejected public polling as inaccurate given a volatile political climate.

The intrigue: In an era in which Republican politics remains dominated by former President Trump, his name never came up in the one-hour debate. Kemp weathered withering attacks from Trump after refusing to overturn the state’s 2020 election results and easily fended off a Trump-backed primary challenger.