Republican Governor Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference on November 7, 2022 in Atlanta.
Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
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Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
Republican Governor Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference on November 7, 2022 in Atlanta.
Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images
ATLANTA – Republican Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp won a second term, once again defeating Democrat Stacey Abrams in one of the most closely watched campaigns for governor in the country, according to a report. Associated Press race.
In a speech to supporters on Tuesday night, Kemp said, “It seems that reports of my political death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Four years after their first controversial election when Kemp beat Abrams with about 55,000 votes, both candidates presented their bids as household name. This time, however, the political climate is less friendly to Democrats.
Kemp is an incumbent, beloved by Republicans for his record of four years of conservative preference and respected by some moderates for standing up to former President Donald Trump’s pressure to overturn. 2020 election results.
Abrams joins the race with a global brand, emerging in part because of her role in new voter activation and help go green Georgia in 2020 for the first time in years.
In her concession speech on Tuesday night, she said: “What we’ve built in this state doesn’t end today.”
After beating a major Republican competitor backed by former President Donald Trump – supporting a trend among Republican candidates in other states – Kemp led Abrams by almost every poll go to the election.
Democrats were hoping their surprise win in the previous cycle in Georgia, when President Biden and two US Democratic senators narrowly won, showed their party finally had could reclaim the governor’s mansion and elect the country’s first black woman to office in this historic red state.
But even the US Supreme Court’s decision overturned Roe v. Wade, which Democrats think will energize voters, wasn’t enough to propel Abrams to the top. Kemp signed a law in 2019 to ban most abortions after about six weeks, effective this summer.
Abrams also faces voter frustration over high prices for groceries and gas and Biden’s continued unpopularity.
As governor, Kemp signed a new ballot law that Democrats have fiercely criticized, as well as bills to relax firearms regulations and enact new restrictions on how teachers talk about race in the classroom.
But as Kemp worked to sway the court’s voters, he relied on his handling of the state’s economy and frequently touted his decision to reopen schools and businesses early during the pandemic.
Efforts by Democrats, especially Abrams, to attract new and infrequent voters have shaken Georgian politics. And with Georgia’s diversification and growing population, Georgia will remain a battleground state. But Tuesday’s results show that Republicans are still dominant.
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