Georgia’s Democratic nominee for governor Stacey Abrams remained defiant on Monday, announcing that she plans to take legal action next week in response to voter suppression in her state.
“We are going to file a federal lawsuit next week that will allege the gross mismanagement that we have seen and that we have been able to document,” the rising Democratic star told MSNBC‘s Chris Hayes.
Abrams also announced that she will be running for office again either in 2020 or beyond.
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Stacey Abrams says she isn’t going anywhere, plans to run for office again. #ctl #p2 pic.twitter.com/JWFIYrqNsa
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) November 20, 2018
Abrams said:
We have started an organization called Fair Fight Georgia. We are going to file a federal lawsuit next week that will allege the gross mismanagement that we have seen and that we have been able to document. In fact, we thought we were going to go forward with the case today or this week, but we have gotten so many more — so much more information from voters, so many more calls that we’re continuing to gather affidavits and we’re going to push it to next week, given the holidays. But I’m also going to make certain that we go beyond litigation, that we think about how we pass legislation that improves voting rights in the state of Georgia. And how do we make certain on the county level that communities are getting the resources they need, but also holding their county election boards accountable for the decisions that are made and the resources that are provided to their communities. … I am going to take some time off. I’ve been running for the last two years, and we do have to deal with making sure that the integrity of our election system is ready for what I hope will be the onslaught of 2020 when presidential candidates come calling in Georgia for the first time in years because they need to know that Georgia is a competitive state. And I will decide if I’m going to run in 2020 or beyond, but I am going to run for office again.
The future of the Democratic Party is bright
While Stacey Abrams will not be Georgia’s next governor, her candidacy in the once-red state shows that the future of the Democratic Party is bright.
Not only can unabashedly progressive candidates compete – even when facing off against a secretary of state that is essentially rigging the election in his favor – but they can compete in GOP territory.
Abrams also showed that Georgia is a state that is quickly moving toward the Democratic column. Voter suppression efforts may have helped Republicans in the short-term, but it’s a strategy with an expiration date.
The Democratic Party‘s strong bench of diverse candidates like Stacey Abrams combined with quickly shifting demographics in once reliably red states shows that the party’s future is bright.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
