Democrat Stacey Abrams has conceded to Republican incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp in the Georgia governor's race, bringing a conclusive end to the pair's closely-watched midterms rematch. The Associated Press called the race around 12:45 a.m. ET, after Abrams had conceded.
As of 1:30 a.m. ET, Kemp held 53.4 percent of the vote with over 95 percent of the votes accounted for; Abrams held 45.9.
"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," Abrams told supporters at her election night party in Atlanta, likely after calling Kemp to concede. "We may not have made it to the finish line, but we ran that race."
"While we might not write the story today, there is always another chapter," she added.
Abrams' admission of defeat is particularly notable, considering she battled allegations of election denial following her non-concession in 2018. (Abrams has since said she "never denied that I lost," and was more so highlighting that voter "access to the election was flawed.")
For Kemp, the victory "completes a remarkable political comeback after attacks from Donald Trump over Kemp's refusal to overturn Georgia's 2020 electoral results," The Associated Press notes. The former president even went so far as to endorse a challenger to Kemp in the Republican primary.
But as the governor told his supporters early Wednesday morning: "It looks like the reports of my political death have been greatly exaggerated."