Stacey Abrams officially conceded in the 2022 Georgia governor’s race on Tuesday night (Nov. 8). The gubernatorial candidate was defeated by Gov. Brian Kemp in their second faceoff. Abrams began her concession speech by congratulating her opponent before addressing her supporters.
“Our state has experienced one soul-crushing crisis after another over the past two years, but even during these trying times, the fighting spirit of Georgia has prevailed,” remarked the Spelmanite. “We’ve made sacrifices, we’ve pitched in, we’ve seen each other’s fights as our own and we’ve done things we never thought we could.”
Abrams continued, “I got into this for a fight for what we know to be true, deep down in our bones, that the state of Georgia, the people of Georgia deserve more.”
Her speech continued with a message of hope, promising to continue her fight for the Peach State.
“While I may not have crossed the finish line, that does not mean we will ever stop running for a better Georgia. We will never stop running for the truth that we know to be true, for the people we know need to see us. For the ones who don’t know they deserve to stand, let alone run. And tonight, we must be honest. Even though my fight, our fight for the governor’s mansion may have come up short. I’m pretty tall.”
Abrams added, “I may no longer be seeking the office of governor, but I will never stop doing everything in my power to ensure that the people of Georgia have a voice.”
According to NPR, Kemp won with 53.4% of the votes, with 2,102,323 residents selecting him on their ballot. Abrams took 45.9% or 1,803,923 votes.
“It looks like the reports of my political death have been greatly exaggerated,” bragged Kemp on election night in a victory speech.
“This election proves that when Republicans stay focused on real world solutions that put hard-working people first, we can win now, but also in the future, y’all.”
The closely watched rematch comes after a 2018 gubernatorial race where Kemp first came out victorious against Abrams by a narrow margin of 55,000 votes.
Watch Abrams’ full concession speech below.