New York magazine columnist Ed Kilgore's coverage of the Georgia governor's race comes with local perspective that most national writers lack.
A native Georgian and former communications director for former U.S. Sen. Sam Nunn, Kilgore brings a deep knowledge of the state's political history to his work. Kilgore, a well-known Democratic activist and writer before joining the magazine's staff, is a graduate of Atlanta's Emory University and the University of Georgia's Law School.
Kilgore's analysis of Tuesday night's debate between Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp shows how Kemp's efforts to keep minority voters from the polls have deep roots in Southern history.
Earlier this week, Kilgore wrote the best piece on the report that Abrams as a college student participated in a 1992 demonstration to support removing the Confederate battlefield symbol from the Georgia state flag.
In contrast to a distorted New York Times article on the flag-burning ceremony, Kilgore gave in-depth background on the lawful protest. His strong perspective was informed by the fact that he was present at the Georgia State Capitol on the day of the protest. He mentions that the flag-burning likely fizzled because of a steady rain that day.
As Kilgore points out, Abrams and the other protesters acted in support of then-Gov. Zell Miller's opposition to the use of the Confederate symbol. The Civil War insignia, added in the 1950s by white supremacists opposed to school integration, was eventually removed under Gov. Roy Barnes, a factor in his defeat.
Kilgore's versatility is admirable; he also wrote a searching essay Wednesday on the dangers of political violence following the discovery of bombs sent to George Soros, Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama and CNN.
With Kilgore, Frank Rich, Jonathan Chait, Rebecca Traister and others, New York magazine has an admirable lineup of progressive political writers. I could do without weekly columnist Andrew Sullivan, but he gives balance with his conservative outlook.
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