The Georgia governor’s race is not over yet, Stacey Abrams declared to supporters in an update on Wednesday afternoon.
The race between Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp drew the attention of the nation as Abrams looked to become the first female black governor in America’s history. The race was contentious, with allegations that Abrams was improperly using his position as secretary of state to purge voters from the rolls likely to vote for Abrams. Polls showed the race in a dead heat, and that is where it ended on Tuesday.
With Kemp holding on to a very small lead on Wednesday morning, the Abrams camp has declared that the remaining absentee and provisional ballots could still deliver a victory — or at least take Kemp back under the 50 percent threshold that would take the race to a December runoff election. As Abrams told supporters on Wednesday, there are still many votes to be counted.
“As we have done since day one, my team will continue to work around the clock to make sure that every ballot is counted—because voting is the bedrock and lifeblood of our democracy,” she wrote on Twitter.
Make no mistake: This race is not over.
As we have done since day one, my team will continue to work around the clock to make sure that every ballot is counted—because voting is the bedrock and lifeblood of our democracy.
Let’s get it done: https://t.co/N2q2Sr4RyY #gapol
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 7, 2018
As NBC News noted, the race was still too close to call even after nearly all precincts in the state had reported. At 11 a.m. ET on Wednesday, a total of 99 percent of precincts had reported and Kemp was leading 50.4 percent to 48.7 percent for Abrams. Kemp led the race by roughly 115,000 votes just after midnight but the total continued to shrink as the night went on, leaving him roughly 75,000 votes ahead of his Democratic opponent.
Stacey Abrams spoke to her supporters at close to 2 a.m. ET on Wednesday, saying that the Georgia governor race was far from over.
“Democracy only works when we work for it, when we fight for it, when we demand it, and apparently today when we stand in line for hours to meet it at the ballot box,” Abrams said (via CBS News ). “I am here today to tell you there are votes remaining to be counted. Voices are waiting to be heard.”
As the Georgia governor race appears to be headed for a recount, there could be another controversy on the way. As secretary of state, Brian Kemp would oversee the process and many have called on him to step down from the position. Stacey Abrams has vowed to continue fighting and believes that Kemp will fall below the 50 percent threshold once all the votes are counted.