Stacey Abrams is not done just yet!
With the results as close as they are, the Georgia gubernatorial candidate refused to concede the election into the early morning on Wednesday. She vowed to continue fighting to become the country’s first female African American governor as her campaign maintained there were still enough ballots left to take the closely-watched race to a runoff election.
By the time she spoke to her supporters in the early hours of Wednesday morning, she was trailing her GOP opponent, and Secretary of State, Brian Kemp by 100,000 votes.
“I’m here tonight to tell you votes remain to be counted. There are voices that are waiting to be heard,” Abrams said in a rousing speech in which she vowed to make sure “every vote is counted.”
She continued: “Democracy only works when we work for it. When we fight for it. When we demand it.”
Abrams and her campaign have pointed out that there are tens of thousands of absentee and provisional ballots that have yet to be counted, which could mean Kemp would not take the required 50% to claim an outright victory.
On Tuesday, a group of Georgia voters also filed a federal lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court in Atlanta to keep Kemp from exercising any further powers of the Secretary of State’s Office in presiding over the election.
Voters faced long lines and malfunctioning machines during Tuesday’s vote with many blaming Kemp’s office for the lack of efficiency.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit said they are seeking a temporary restraining order barring Kemp from being involved in the overall election process including any runoff or recount procedures that would normally be exercised by his office.
The race continues to be closely watched.
