Democratic Party activist and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams recently served in a different role — as president of the United Earth, on the CBS television series “Star Trek: Discovery.”
Abrams, an avid Star Trek fan, was invited to cameo as the leader of the planet in the season four finale of the show. In her role as president, Abrams’s character, several centuries into the future, helps reintegrate the United Earth into the Federation of Planets.
“United Earth is ready right now to rejoin the Federation, and nothing could make me happier than to say those words,” Abrams says in one of her lines.
It’s unclear who was more excited about Abrams’s appearance on the program — Abrams herself, or the cast and crew of the show, some of whom have worked with her previously.
“Honestly, the number of times I’ve seen the episode, every time I see her face, I’m like, ‘Wow, that really happened. That’s awesome,'” showrunner Michelle Paradise said.
Yes, that was Stacey Abrams with a cameo on Star Trek Discovery as president of United Earth. A proud Star Trek nerd, Abrams has appeared as a guest on fan shows and has talked extensively about how the show shaped her perspective. #gapol pic.twitter.com/V1HbghDERw
— Greg Bluestein (@bluestein) March 17, 2022
Although it’s unlikely that Abrams will become president of Earth in her lifetime, she has previously discussed the possibility of running for president of the United States, saying in past interviews that she “absolutely” has the ambition to do so sometime in the future.
Abrams is currently running to unseat incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R), whom she lost to in a close election in 2018. That race was not without controversy — weeks before Election Day, Kemp, who was Georgia secretary of state at the time, purged over half a million voters from the voting rolls, leading many to question whether or not his win was legitimate.
Since that race, Abrams has been instrumental in helping to elect Democrats — including current Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, whom she campaigned for in December 2020 during their separate runoff races, alongside other Star Trek cast members at the time.
In a campaign video announcing her run for governor this past December, Abrams championed “leadership that understands the true pain folks are feeling, and has real plans.”
“That’s the job of governor, to fight for one Georgia, our Georgia,” she added. “And now, it’s time to get the job done.”
If Kemp can stave off a primary challenge from former Republican Sen. David Perdue, it’s likely that a rematch between him and Abrams will once again be close. A Quinnipiac University poll from January found that 49 percent of respondents wanted Kemp to remain in office, while 47 percent said that they planned to vote for Abrams — a split that was within the poll’s 2.4 percent margin of error, effectively marking a statistical tie.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
