Photo: Getty Images
Stacey Abrams secured her spot in the race for Georgia governor on Tuesday (May 24).
NBC News reports that Abrams won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Georgia after running unopposed. The voting activist will face current Republican Governor Brian Kemp in a rematch.
The two faced off in 2018 with Kemp narrowly winning the race. Abrams previously accused the incumbent governor of discriminatory election practices that diluted Black voting power.
Since calling out Kemp, Abrams has become a leader in driving Black voters to the polls. During the 2020 election, Abram's efforts helped Joe Biden secure Georgia in the race to become president.
Abrams registering hundreds of thousands of Georgia voters also had a heavy hand in securing Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff their seats on the Senate.
However, the gubernatorial candidate has been the subject of controversy following her comments about the state of Georgia under Kemp's leadership.
"I am tired of hearing about being the best state in the country to do business when we are the worst state in the country to live," Abrams said in a statement. "Now, somebody's going to try to PolitiFact me on this — let me contextualize. When you're No. 48 for mental health, when you're No. 1 for maternal mortality, when you have an incarceration rate that's on the rise and wages that are on the decline, then you are not the No. 1 place to live."
Abrams added, "You see, Georgia is capable of greatness. We just need greatness to be in our governor's office."
The voting rights activists admitted that her comments about Georgia being the "worst state" were "inartfully delivered," but stood by the intent of her message: to point out the reality that struggling Georgians are living in.
"We're listening to Brian Kemp give a narrative about a record that does not reflect reality," Abrams said on Monday (May 23).
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.