Georgia governor's race: Kemp declares victory, Abrams waits for results


Republican Brian Kemp declared himself the victor in Georgia's gubernatorial race on Wednesday, while his opponent, Democrat Stacey Abrams, said it's not over until every ballot is counted.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Kemp has about 64,000 more votes than Abrams, giving him 50.35 percent of the vote; in Georgia, if a candidate is unable to get 50 percent of the vote, a runoff is held. Abrams argues that there are still thousands of provisional ballots that need to be counted, and this could drop him below the threshold. "This election is over," Austin Chambers, an adviser to Kemp, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The votes have been counted. And the results are clear: Brian Kemp is the governor-elect."
Kemp is Georgia's secretary of state, and refused to step aside during the campaign, despite many saying it was a conflict of interest for him to oversee his own election. The Abrams campaign has called for the state to appoint a "nonpartisan bureaucrat" to oversee the certification of results, rather than Kemp.
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.
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
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Ningaloo: Australia's other great reef
The Week Recommends Get up close and personal with whale sharks in an incredible underwater experience
By The Week UK Published
-
Codeword: March 16, 2025
The Week's daily codeword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: March 16, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Schumer: Democrats will help pass spending bill
Speed Read The Democrats end the threat of government shutdown
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Judges tell Trump to rehire fired federal workers
Speed Read Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE team face a big setback in their efforts to shrink the federal workforce
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump trade war heats up as Canada, EU retaliate
Speed Read The president imposes 25% steel and aluminum tariffs in an effort to revive US manufacturing, though it may drive up prices for Americans instead
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump hawks Teslas, slashes more federal jobs
Speed Read The Education Department cut its workforce in half ahead of an expected Trump order to shutter the agency
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine agrees to ceasefire, ending US aid freeze
Speed Read Kyiv made peace with the Trump administration by agreeing to an immediate ceasefire in its war against Russian invaders
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
ICE arrests Palestinian advocate with green card
Speed Read Recent Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil has had his visa revoked, despite his status as a permanent resident
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump doesn't rule out recession as tariffs bite
Speed Read In an interview for Fox News, Trump acknowledges the economic turbulence caused by his tariffs but claims his policies will be worth it in the long run
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published