Maybe next time…
Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams will not run for governor in the 2026 midterm elections, ending speculation about a possible third bid for the state’s top office.
Abrams, a two-time Democratic gubernatorial nominee in the key battleground state, said she is stepping aside from electoral politics to focus instead on what she describes as efforts to counter a growing threat of authoritarianism under President Donald Trump.
“Americans are in pain but they are ready to act, and now is the moment to reconnect to what is at stake and what is possible,” Abrams said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s clear to me that the most effective way I can serve right now is by continuing to do this important work. For that reason, I will not seek elected office in 2026.”
A former Democratic leader in the Georgia state legislature and a nationally prominent voting-rights advocate, Abrams narrowly lost the 2018 governor’s race to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and was defeated by nearly eight points in a 2022 rematch. Kemp is term-limited and cannot seek re-election in 2026.
Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital last spring that Abrams had been considering another run to succeed Kemp. However, her political influence has waned in recent years, and several other Democrats entered the race as Abrams weighed her options.
In her statement, Abrams emphasized her continued focus on democracy-related issues.
“The antidote to authoritarianism and its harms has always been democracy; and I have long believed that democracy requires active engagement and staunch defenders,” she wrote. “But democracy is experienced by the vast majority through the work of government — when it fails, we are all imperiled.”
The political organization Abrams helped build has also suffered setbacks. The New Georgia Project, which she founded, shut down last year after being fined $300,000 for illegally supporting her 2018 campaign.
With Abrams out of the race, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is widely viewed as the Democratic front-runner. Bottoms previously served as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
Other Democrats seeking the nomination include former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a onetime Republican elected in 2018 who declined to run for re-election in 2022 and has since aligned with the Democratic Party. Former state Rep. Ruwa Romman and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond are also running.
On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones enters the race with the backing of President Trump. The GOP field also includes Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, setting up a competitive primary in one of the nation’s most closely watched governor’s races.
The field also includes Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
READ NEXT: Federal Government Halts Minnesota’s Role In ICE Shooting Probe
AMERICA VOTE OUT THE TYRANTS DEMOCRATS AND LIBERALS AND PROGRESSIVES IN EVERY ELECTION WE THE PEOPLE DEMAND IT THE LEFT IS TRYING TO DESTROY AMERICA 🇺🇸
Who in their right mind would vote for this halfwit Democrat Stacey Abrams?