Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp claimed victory Wednesday in his gubernatorial contest with Democrat Stacey Abrams — but Abrams, vying to become the nation’s first black female governor, is so far refusing to concede. Fox News has not yet called the race.
According to Associated Press vote totals with all precincts reporting, Kemp has 1,972,952 votes to Abrams’ 1,909,730 — giving him 50.3 percent to her 48.7 percent. The state could have had its first-ever gubernatorial runoff if neither candidate had cleared the 50 percent mark.
“Brian Kemp earned nearly two million votes on Tuesday – by far the most of any gubernatorial candidate in our state’s history,” Kemp press secretary Cody Hall said in a statement.
Hall continued: “Absentee ballots are counted and Kemp leads his opponent by 64,000 votes. Based on counts released by the Secretary of State’s office, Brian Kemp’s margin is so large that the number of provisional ballots and overseas ballots will not change his Election Day victory. Simply put, it is mathematically impossible for Stacey Abrams to win or force a run-off election.”
Kemp had previously faced criticism for refusing to announce preemptively that he would recuse himself from overseeing any recount that may have occurred in the race. – READ MORE