Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams explained on Monday that nine months after she lost the race, she still refuses to concede because it would imply the election was honest.
“Because concession means to say that the process was fair,” Abrams replied to CBS’s Gayle King when asked why she refuses to concede.
Abrams lost her Georgia election against now-Gov. Brian Kemp by more than 55,000 votes, however, she stated that in the 10 days following election night, her campaign received more than 50,000 phone calls from Georgia residents who were claiming that they had been denied the right to vote. If true, that would have closed the gap and triggered a recount.
“I am complicit if I say that system is fair. I did not deny the legal sufficiency of the election,” Abrams said. “I am not claiming to be the governor of Georgia despite what Breitbart and others like to say.”
Abrams’ 2018 campaign has been consistently accusing both Kemp and the State of Georgia of suppressing the minority vote since even prior to Election Day. In October 2018, the campaign released a statement claiming that Kemp is “maliciously wielding the power of his office to suppress the vote for political gain and silences the voices of thousands of eligible voters – the majority of them people of color.”
There has been no evidence to corroborate the claim.
“What I have said is that we won the battle of making sure more voices were heard because we had the highest record turnout in Georgia history for Democrats,” Abrams said to King.
“But the other thing to remember is, look, because there are more people in the water, that doesn’t mean there are fewer sharks,” she added. “You can have higher turnout, but that doesn’t diminish the fact that voter suppression is real and affecting people across the country.”
Immediately following Abrams’ failed bid for the governorship, the former Georgia lawmaker launched the organization Fair Fight Action to “pursue accountability in Georgia’s elections and integrity in the process of maintaining our voter rolls,” according to a press release.
Fair Fight Action filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia only two weeks after the 2018 election, suing for what she alleges is widespread voter suppression in her statewide race. Interestingly, the lawsuit points to legislation that Abrams was instrumental in enacting while she was a member of the Georgia State Assembly. The lawsuit is still ongoing.
Abrams revealed last week that she launched a new initiative called Fair Fight 2020, which is seemingly an extension of Fair Fight Action. Though billed as an initiative for “free, fair, and secure elections,” its focus is on electing Democrats.
“If we start early and work together, we will ensure that every American voter’s voice is heard and that Democrats up and down the ballot will win,” the organization’s website reads.
Abrams announced that Fair Fight 2020’s launch means she will be forgoing a bid for the presidency.