Georgia Democratic Party office near polling place in Sandy Springs, GA
A Democratic Party of Georgia office, which opened near Atlanta on May 28, is seen near a local polling place, potentially violating a state statute that prohibits electioneering.
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp blasted Democratic rival Stacey Abrams after her campaign's costly private security over a four-month period far surpassed what the members of the far left "Squad" spent on their security for an entire year.
"Despite being the faces of the far-left movement demonizing police across the country, even the Squad falls short of Stacey Abrams’ double standard," Kemp said Wednesday in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital.
"Abrams champions – and continues to profit from – the ‘Defund the Police’ movement, while also paying more than her liberal pals in Congress for private security," he added. "Abrams’ dangerous agenda and outrageous hypocrisy put herself ahead of the safety and security of Georgia families."
Though she holds no public office, Abrams paid over $450,000 between December 2021 and April 2022 to Executive Protection Agencies (EPA Security), an Atlanta-based private security firm. The amount is $125,000 more than what "Squad" members Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., combined paid for all of 2021.
Stacey Abrams speaks to the media at the Israel Baptist Church in Atlanta as voters head to the polls during the Georgia primary on May 24, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
STACEY ABRAMS DONOR, FOUNDATION PRESIDENT WANTS TO ‘ABOLISH THE POLICE’ AND PRISONS
According to Federal Election Commission records reviewed by Fox News Digital, the "Squad" collectively spent over $325,000 on private security, with Bush's spending making up the majority of the amount, coming in at $200,000 for the year. Ocasio-Cortez followed with $75,000, Omar at $30,000, Pressley at $14,000, Bowman at $7,800 and Tlaib at nearly $3,000.
Bush spent an additional $70,000 on private security for the first quarter of 2022, bringing her total spent to over $300,000, still well below what Abrams spent in just four months.
Abrams, who is running to unseat Kemp in a rematch following her defeat in the state's 2018 gubernatorial election, was also the latest to join the "Squad" on the list of Democrats paying for private security despite ties to the "Defund the Police" movement.
Cori Bush attends the "Knock Down The House" premiere at Castro Theatre on April 13, 2019, in San Francisco, California. (Kimberly White/Getty Images for Netflix)
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Abrams serves as a board member of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, a Seattle-based left-wing grant-making organization that has called for abolishing law enforcement.
In contrast to the foundation's position on policing, Abrams previously claimed in 2020, that the "Defund the Police" movement created "a false choice idea," and that police departments instead needed a "reformation" and "transformation."
In a separate statement provided to Fox News Digital, Kemp's campaign slammed Abrams' "hypocrisy" over the spending and "Defund the Police" ties. The campaign accused her of supporting the movement despite her previous claim.
"Stacey Abrams’ jaw-dropping hypocrisy knows no limits. While she tries to run from her record of supporting – and profiting from – the Defund the Police movement, Governor Kemp will continue to stand with the men and women in law enforcement that keep our communities safe," said Tate Mitchell, press secretary for the Kemp campaign.
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during an election night party on May 24, 2022, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Last month, Kemp called on Abrams to resign from the foundation's board, and accused her of being "out-of-touch with Georgians" on law enforcement policy.
Over 100 Georgia sheriffs later joined Kemp in condemning Abrams over her ties to the foundation.
Fox News' Joe Schoffstall, Houston Keene and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.
