Governor's race intensifies even more with 2+ weeks until Election Day

ATLANTA — The race for governor is getting even more intense, just two and a half weeks from Election Day.

Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp hit the road on separate bus tours around the state Friday while accusations fly from each campaign.

Channel 2 political reporter Richard Elliot caught up with Abrams at a stop in Rome on Friday, a stop that showed a lot of passion from both her supporters and those who are not.

Abrams was met by a heckler asking her about her back taxes. She answered the man’s questions and then went right back to her campaign speech.

[READ: Crowds swarm polls in record numbers for early voting in Georgia]

Over the last few weeks, she’s pressed her opponent on accusations of voter suppression, something picked up by several other groups who support her. Kemp strongly denies those claims.

Abrams acknowledges that the race for governor has gotten a lot more rough-and-tumble over the past few weeks.

“I think what’s happening is that people are really paying attention, and there’s a lot of messaging out there and folks what to make sure their messages are clear. I’m going to always clarify things that are misstated. I’m going to make sure people understand elections are about choices and they need to know their choices,” Abrams told Elliot.

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Just a couple of hours earlier, Elliot was with Kemp as he made a stop at the WSB-TV studios to record a spot granted to all statewide candidates.

He’s pressed Abrams over remarks she made earlier this week where he said she insulted both farmers and people who work in the hospitality industry.

About 400 people signed a letter criticizing her for it.

[READ: Turnout on first day of Georgia early voting more than triples from last midterm]

Abrams said those comments were taken way out of context.

Kemp agrees that it feels like the campaign has entered a more rough-and-tumble phase.

“It’s a tough process, and it should be. I mean, you want your governor to be vetted. I’m perfectly comfortable running on my record.  It’s a strong one,” Kemp told Elliot.

More strong early voting is expected over the next few weeks.

One expert told Elliot he thinks we may see more early voting than voting on the actual Election Day, which is Nov. 6.

Cox Media Group