After 2018 drama, Abrams concedes to Kemp in Georgia


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."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"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."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'
-
Trump is not sure he must follow the Constitution
speed read When asked about due process for migrants in a TV interview, President Trump said he didn't know whether he had to uphold the Fifth Amendment
-
Trump judge bars deportations under 1798 law
speed read A Trump appointee has ruled that the president's use of a wartime act for deportations is illegal
-
Trump ousts Waltz as NSA, taps him for UN role
speed read President Donald Trump removed Mike Waltz as national security adviser and nominated him as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations