Democrat Stacey Abrams Ends Bid For Georgia Governor

UPDATE 11/16/18: Democrat Stacey Abrams ended her campaign to become the next governor of Georgia Friday, which would have made her the first black woman in American history to lead a state. After a 10-day standoff, Abrams recognized in a fiery speech that Republican Brian Kemp will assume the position.

"I acknowledge that former Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election," Abrams said. "But to watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in this state baldly pin his hopes for election on suppression of the people's democratic right to vote has been truly appalling."

Abrams also made it clear her speech wasn't one of concession, saying she plans to file a federal lawsuit to challenge the "gross mismanagement" of Georgia elections.

"In the coming days, we will be filing a major federal lawsuit against the state of Georgia for the gross mismanagement of this election and to protect future elections."

Abrams made the announcement late Friday afternoon, which—according to reports—was the earliest state officials could certify the results after a court-ordered review of absentee, provisional and other uncounted ballots.

11/ 7/18: The fight isn't over yet for Stacey Abrams, who is refusing to step down in her quest to become the first black woman governor of Georgia. On Election Night the Democratic nominee announced in a fiery speech that she would not concede the race until every single vote is counted, a rallying call that concluded a night of voting challenges for Georgia residents.

"There are voices remaining to be heard," she told the crowd of supporters early Wednesday morning. "We believe our chance for a stronger Georgia is just within reach.”

Abrams, the former minority leader of the Georgia General Assembly and the first black woman to lead in the House of Representatives, is up against the Republican candidate, Brian Kemp. Kemp, who is currently Georgia’s sitting Secretary of State, was endorsed by President Donald Trump during the campaign. Over the summer Trump said Kemp was “tough on crime, strong on the border and illegal immigration."

Here's where things get a little tricky. Right now Abrams has about 48.7 percent of the vote, with 1,907,212 votes. Kemp currently has the lead with 50.4 percent and 1,971,831 votes, according to the Associated Press. This means less than 65,000 votes separate the two candidates. And those numbers really could mean something as Georgia has an odd law that states a gubernatorial candidate must win a majority of votes (more than 50 percent) to win the election. If neither candidate takes home a majority, it triggers a run-off election. Both parties would meet again for a December 4 vote. It would mark the first general election race for governor to require a runoff, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Abrams' campaign team believes there are at least 97,000 early votes and mail-in ballots that have not been tallied, AP reports. The team believes she needs just 25,000 of those votes to be in her favor to trigger a runoff. However, Kemp disagrees.

“There are votes left to count, but…make no mistake, the math is on our side to win this election," he said Tuesday evening, according to the AP. Still, Abrams is willing to wait.

Kemp famously played into the President's racist rhetoric with a primary campaign ad where he said he'd "round up illegals and bring them back myself." He ran on a platform that included increasing teacher pay, capping state spending, lowering health care premiums, and ending sanctuary cities. Abrams focused her platform on strengthening environmental protections, supporting a pathway to citizenship for immigrants, opposing further abortion restrictions, the decriminalization of marijuana in Georgia, universal background checks, and supporting educational scholarship funding for all.

Abrams was well-aware that she wasn't liked by everyone on the campaign trail, but chose to focus her attention on empowering sideline supporters instead.

“My approach is this,” Abrams shared with Rolling Stone about her campaign. “I’m not going to spend a disproportionate share of our resources trying to convert Republican-leaning voters when we can invest in lifting up the voices of those who share our values. Because here’s the thing: I think our values are the right ones. And I think these values that are shared actually are going to be victorious on their own.”

Abrams also had some serious star power supporting her campaign. Just prior to the election, Oprah Winfrey flew to Georgia to campaign for Abrams, even going door-to-door to garner more support for the candidate.

"Nobody paid for me to come here. Nobody even asked for me to come here. I paid for myself and I approve this message," Oprah shared during a campaign rally for Abrams.

If Abrams gets her way, and every vote is tallied, it looks like Oprah may have to return to the Peach State soon.

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