Stacey Abrams addresses supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in November 2020
In November 2018 many eyes were on Georgia’s gubernatorial race The election saw Democrat Stacey Abrams face off against Republican Brian Kemp As the final votes were counted Kemp led Abrams by a little less than fifty thousand votes Kemp beat Abrams to become the next governor of Georgia It was one of the closest statewide races in recent US history The nation awaited a final concession speech from Abrams She was known as a young ambitious and visionary leader Many dreamed she would transform Georgia During her campaign for governor Abrams created a plan to increase funding for children’s education She wanted to expand access to health care for everyone Her plans encouraged small business owners to grow supported criminal justice reform and aimed to improve access to mental health services 7
After the results of Georgia’s 2018 race for governor came in Abrams voiced concerns that the race had not been conducted fairly Abrams sparked interest in voting and civic engagement across the nation She reminded everyday people that their voices mattered They could help to shape laws and policies on issues from immigration to criminal justice They could serve their communities to transform local schools and economies She challenged citizens to take action to build stronger communities and brighter futures On November 16 2018 Abrams stood at a podium at her campaign’s headquarters in Atlanta Georgia Her 8
supporters gathered to listen and people from across the nation and the world watched as the speech was broadcast Abrams looked into the camera and began to speak starting with the history of voting and democracy Abrams also referred to concerns that the race for governor was not conducted fairly Kemp ran for office while he was Georgia’s secretary of state One of his duties was to oversee elections This meant Kemp both oversaw and ran in the same election During the race his office removed over a half million voters from Georgia’s registry His office also blocked fifty-three thousand new voters from voting These actions created challenges for voters hoping to register and cast their ballots Brian Kemp in November 2018 9
