Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Has Accumulated over $200,000 in Personal Debt

Stacey Abrams is vowing to improve Georgia’s economic standing, but she believes her struggles with massive personal debt do not reflect poorly on her fiscal responsibility.

Georgia’s Democratic gubernatorial nominee {snip} has acknowledged that she owes more than $200,000 in student loans, credit card debt and IRS back taxes.

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Abrams owes back taxes amounting to $40,201 for 2015 and $13,851 for 2016. She owes $96,512 in student loan debt and another $77,522 in credit card debt spread over nine different accounts. In total, she is about $228,000 in the red. This number is actually higher if you count her $178,500 in real estate debt and her $4,434 car loan.

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Abrams has argued that her financial difficulties make her uniquely qualified to lead Georgia, pointing out that many Americans also struggle with debt. However, her case does appear to be well above the norm. Her $96, 512 in student loan debt is almost three times the national average. More notably, her $77,522 in credit card debt is five times the national household average.

Abrams — who would become the first black female governor in the country if elected — also appeared to cite prejudice for her financial woes. Defending her weak financial standing in an op-ed for Fortune, the gubernatorial candidate blamed wealth disparities between white, Latin and black households as partially the result of housing, labor and education discrimination. Despite landing a $95,000 salary position soon after graduating from Yale Law school, Abrams also lamented in her column over the gender pay between women and men.

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