Stacey Abrams Hits Buttigieg: 'Identity Politics Is Exactly Who We Are'

Failed Georgia Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Wednesday called on Democrats to embrace identity politics in an apparent swipe at 2020 Democrat White House contender and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who previously warned the race-obsessed style of politics is contributing to a “crisis of belonging.”

In her remarks before the Center for American Progress’ Ideas Conference, Abrams said definition “identity politics” had been maligned by people motivated to suppress emerging minority voices from participating in the political process.

“The notion of identity politics has been peddled for the past 10 years and it’s been used as a dog whistle to say we shouldn’t pay too much attention to the voices coming into progress. I would argue that identity politics is exactly who we are and exactly how we won,” Abrams argued, before turning her attention to Buttigieg’s criticism of identity politics, per The Hill.

“When I hear Democratic candidates, progressive candidates, American candidates decrying the identity of their voters, I’m deeply worried for our democracy,” she stated.

Abrams, who has yet to rule out a campaign of her own for the presidency, did not mention Buttigieg by name. The South Bend mayor told a prominent group of LGBT rights activists earlier this month that a “crisis of belonging” in the United States is exacerbated by “so-called identity politics.”