It’s been days since the midterm election, and the state of Georgia still has yet to officially announce the name of its new governor. Initially, the faceoff between former Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams ended with him being the projected winner of the race. But shortly after the election, there was mounting speculation of alleged voter suppression and other political obstacles that may have sacrificed the integrity of the election. For that reason, Georgia ultimately opted for a recount, and Stacey Abrams adamantly refused to concede. Needless to say, Brian Kemp wasn’t pleased at all. Now, he’s speaking out about the political debacle yet again and he reportedly has a damning message for Abrams.
According to USA Today , Brian Kemp is reportedly pressuring Abrams to concede despite the recount. It has been reported that Kemp has harshly criticized the electoral recount describing the entire situation as “a disgrace to democracy.” He also considers Stacey Abrams’ political fight to be nothing more than “antics.”
“Stacey Abrams’ antics are a disgrace to democracy and completely ignore the will of the people,” a statement from Kemp’s campaign read. “Georgia voters have spoken. It’s time for Abrams to listen and concede immediately.”
Kemp’s campaign team has also accused Abrams of “making up numbers.” Despite Abrams’ claims, Kemp argues that, at most, a maximum of “17,495 provisional and military ballots remain.” Even with that particular figure, he believes it still would not be enough to put Abrams in range for a seemingly justifiable recount. But despite Kemp’s arguments and the pressure Abrams is facing, it doesn’t look like she has any intention of backing down.
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Brian Kemp’s latest statement comes days after the election and Stacey Abrams’ refusal to concede. Shortly after the election on Tuesday, November 6, Abrams released a statement about the remaining votes that needed to be counted.
“I’m here tonight to tell you votes remain to be counted. There’s [sic] voices that are waiting to be heard,” Abrams said.
At the time, Kemp was leading the race but he also admitted that there were still votes that had not been counted.
“There are votes left to count. But we have a very strong lead. And folks, make no mistake, the math is on our side to win this election,” he said.
Then, on Wednesday morning, Stacey Abrams’ campaign declared political war on Kemp shedding light on the votes that had allegedly been suppressed. It was reported that hundreds of voting machines had been suppressed in Fulton and Gwinnett counties, both within metropolitan Atlanta city limits. Her campaign released a statement about heavily Democratic areas where those votes were likely cast.
“These counties also represent heavily-Democratic leaning constituencies, and the majority of those votes are anticipated to be for Stacey Abrams,” the statement read. The campaign also said absentee ballots could make a difference.
“Across our state, folks are opening up the dreams of voters in absentee ballots, and we believe our chance for a stronger Georgia is just within reach,” Abrams said the morning after the election.
This will likely be an uphill battle for both candidates, and it won’t be an easy fight to win.