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Brian Kemp is running to be the Governor of Georgia. Stacey Abrams is running to be the Governor of resist libs pic.twitter.com/zQf8DTicSy

— Political Election Projections (@tencor_7144) July 15, 2022

In one of the highest-profile gubernatorial battles in the country, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams is leveraging a vast pool of out-of-state money.

Why it matters: Abrams' fundraising profile — which consists of huge backing from wealthy coastal Democrats and a massive base of small-dollar support — is more typical of a leading national candidate than a gubernatorial contender.

Driving the news: Abrams' campaign and leadership committee have reported receiving about $7 million from Georgia donors, or just over 14% of the nearly $50 million they've combined to raise this cycle.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Kemp's campaign and leadership committee have brought in more than $26 million from in-state donors, or 83% of their $31.5 million total since Kemp began fundraising in 2019.
A substantial chunk of Abrams' in-state raise — a $1.5 million donation to her leadership committee — came from Fair Fight, a voting policy group founded by Abrams herself.

Zoom out: If the trend holds, Abrams would be the only Georgia gubernatorial nominee from either party since at least the 1990s to receive a majority of campaign funds from out of state, according to an Axios analysis of campaign finance records.

Yes, but: Abrams has reported more than 30,000 contributions from Georgians this year alone.

That's more than double the number of in-state donations to Kemp during the same period, though the governor’s campaign was barred from raising money for three months this year while the Georgia legislature was in session. His committee could, however.
Abrams is also entering the critical final leg of the campaign with more than double Kemp's cash on hand.

Of note: State law only requires the disclosure of contributor information for donations over $100.