Stacey Abrams Says She’s Not Dismissing A 2020 Run
The former Georgia gubernatorial candidate is not giving up her political aspirations. Instead, she's carefully weighing her options.
Stacey Abrams, Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia, speaks during an election night watch party in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. Democrats are poised to reclaim the U.S. House, fueled by voter anger and discontent with President Donald Trump to a victory that would dramatically alter his next two years in office and make a deeply divided nation even more difficult to govern. Photographer: Kevin D. Liles/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Stacey Abrams may have “lost” the Georgia gubernatorial race in 2018, but the defeat hasn’t stopped the vocal Democrat from setting her eyes on future political pursuits. In an interview with The New York Times, the author and activist said she’s not going to rule out a run in 2020.“I need women of color, particularly Black women, to understand that our achievements should not be diminished,” Abrams told NYT. She added, “I’m not saying I would be the best candidate, but I’m not going to dismiss it out of hand the way others do.”In the days following her concession to now-Governor Brian Kemp, Abrams admitted she had a hard time dealing with her defeat. She experienced feelings of anger and sadness among other emotions. “For about eight days I was despondent,” she said. In the end, she got back to her old self by using her anger as ammunition to create change. One of the major issues that she’s taken up is voting rights. Those who followed the Georgia race know that voter suppression was a huge talking point. Abrams’ opponent served as the Secretary of State of Georgia for the duration of his campaign. In that position, Kemp was responsible for the voter rolls. Under his watch, several names were purged from the voter registration books. Abrams has since asked a federal judge to fix the election process.“A candidate could always be better, but I don’t believe there’s a flaw in our process that someone can point to and say this is why this happened,” she asserted. “The results were purely and fully attributable to voter suppression.”According to NYT, following an extended campaign, Abrams helped found two organizations while traveling the country giving speeches and revising her book, Minority Leader: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change for paperback release. She also confessed that she’s contemplating what she will do for the rest of her life.Abrams told The Times that she will run for office again, and will decide if she’s throwing her hat in the 2020 presidential race by late March or early April.
