After a hard-fought campaign against former Georgia secretary of state Brian Kemp, Democrat Stacey Abrams announced Friday that she cannot win the governor race in Georgia, according to the Associated Press.
In the speech Abrams delivered Friday, the first Black woman major-party gubernatorial nominee stated that this is “not a speech of concession,” though she did effectively end her race against Kemp by claiming it impossible to win the election at this point.
Prior to the 2018 election, Donald Trump-backed Republican Kemp employed what many called voter suppression tactics in his home state, which included purging voters from the rolls. He claimed — without evidence — that the Democratic party attempted to cyber hack votes in the election (the Democratic party denies such claims) and opened an investigation on the matter.
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While the election may be over, voters’ rights activist Abrams stated in her Friday speech that she is not done fighting.
“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.”
Check out the full speech below:
Stacey Abrams: "Voting is not a right for some. It is a right for all. And it is not privilege. I stand here today as witness to that truth. This election is about all of us, as is the resolution of this moment." (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/rVzdKpchf1
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) November 16, 2018