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Failed Georgia governor nominee Stacey Abrams said on Wednesday that she is once again running for governor of Georgia, setting up a potential rematch against Republican Governor Brian Kemp in a state that has become a key battleground in U.S. elections.
“Opportunity and success in Georgia shouldn’t be determined by your ZIP code, background or access to power,” Abrams, a Democrat, said in a video launching her campaign. “If our Georgia is going to move to its next and greatest chapter, we’re going to need leadership.”
Abrams, 47, a former member of the Georgia House of Representatives, lawyer, entrepreneur and romance novelist, became a national Democratic figurehead and a polarizing figure after losing the governor’s race to Kemp in 2018 by just 55,000 votes.
After the defeat Abrams refused to concede defeat saying that she lost the election due to voter suppression. Since that defeat, Abrams has built a national reputation as a voting rights advocate, founding the organization Fair Fight.
Georgia hasn’t had a Democratic governor since Roy Barnes left office in 2003. If she wins next November, Abrams, whom Biden at one point considered as a potential running mate, would be the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state.
However, many conservatives see Abrams bid as a blessing in disguise as she has shown herself to be a far-left liberal in a country that seems to have slowly begun to buck against extreme Democratic agendas, as seen in the Virginia governor election.
Kemp, who is running for re-election, reacted on Wednesday by saying that Abrams would have shut down the state over COVID-19 and allowed “woke politics” to be part of school lessons.
With Stacey Abrams in control, Georgia would have shut down, students would have been barred from their classrooms, and woke politics would be the law of the land and the lesson plan in our schools.
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) December 1, 2021
“I’m in the fight against Stacey Abrams, the failed Biden agenda, and their woke allies to keep Georgia the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” Kemp said on Twitter.
Kemp could face a difficult primary battle within his own party after resisting Trump’s requests that he convince the Georgia state legislature to overturn the 2020 presidential results showing Biden had beaten Trump.
Kemp has since signed into law sweeping voting restrictions sponsored by Republicans, with potentially big implications for how elections are administered in Georgia in 2022 and the U.S. presidential contest in 2024.
After her announcement many Republicans jumped at the opportunity to again bring attention to the fact that Abrams had refused to concede the election:
Wait I thought you said you were already the Governor https://t.co/G5AEb3hRUU
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) December 1, 2021
.@staceyabrams doesn’t care about Georgia, she cares about herself.
This is latest vanity project for the queen of the woke mob. pic.twitter.com/dgFeAItQ2b
— The RGA (@GOPGovs) December 1, 2021
Georgia is set to vote in congressional and gubernatorial general elections next November.
Copyright 2021 Thomson/Reuters with additions and edits for FISM News by Michael Cardinal