Stacey Abrams acknowledges Brian Kemp will win Georgia gubernatorial race
Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor in Georgia, said Friday she would no longer pursue victory in the race. Abrams, however, stressed she's not conceding. "This speech is not a concession, because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true, or proper," Abrams said, but she added that the "law offers no possible remedy." "I don't want to hold public office if I need to scheme my way into the post," Abrams added, on why she would not bring forward a legal challenge.
"Georgia still has a decision to make about who we will be in the next election," she said. She continued that while many of her critics would criticize her for recapping the wrongs she believed were done during the election, Abrams said, "stoicism is a luxury, and silence is a weapon."
"I will not concede because the erosion of democracy is not right," she said.
Georgia law dictates a race must go to a runoff if neither candidate gets over 50 percent. Republican Brian Kemp currently leads with 50.2 percent.
Abrams has called Kemp, the former Georgia secretary of state, the "architect of voter suppression" in the state. During Kemp's tenure, 1.5 million voters were purged from the rolls.
"Make no mistake, the former secretary of state was deliberate and intentional in his actions," Abrams said in her speech.
In a statement, Kemp said that "The election is over and hardworking Georgians are ready to move forward."
