Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams conceded the gubernatorial race to Republican Brian Kemp.
In her concession speech, Abrams told her supporters, “I may no longer be seeking the office of governor, but I will never stop doing everything in my power to ensure that the people of Georgia have a voice,” she told her supporters.
Abrams, a former Georgia House of Representatives member, became the face of the fight against voter suppression after losing the governor’s race to Kemp in 2018 by just 55,000 votes. Abrams was one of several Black women credited with turning the state blue in 2020. Two of her organizations worked overtime to register new voters. It is estimated she helped to register as many as 800,000 Georgians for the midterm elections.
Abortion rights and tax reform were at the center of the battle between Abrams and Kemp. Kemp signed a restrictive six-week ban in 2019 that went into effect this year upon the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. Abrams vowed to work with the state legislature to try to reverse the six-week ban if elected.
Despite Abrams’ concession, it’s evident to all that Kemp has not made it easy for new voters. In March 2021, he signed into law a series of new restrictions, including the implementation of new ID requirements for absentee ballots. Kemp also limited the use of ballot drop boxes and criminalized the handing out food or water to voters waiting in lines.
“As you all know, we did not get distracted on this hard fought campaign, just like we have stayed focused on putting you first throughout my first term, we woke up every single day talking about how to build a safer stronger Georgia for you and your family and help your family fight through Joe Biden’s 40-year high inflation,” a Kemp told a crowd of supporters. “And we did that by focusing on common sense solutions, to put more of your hard earned tax dollars in your pocket, like passing the largest state income tax cut in history, returning over 1 billion dollars back to you the taxpayers, and suspending the gas tax in this state since March.”
