After a day of historic Congress wins for women, a newly-Democrat controlled House of Representatives, and the Republicans maintaining control of the Senate, the U.S. midterm elections are finally over. However, in a few key states, votes are still being counted—such as the race to control the Florida Senate seat between Rick Scott (R-FL) and Bill Nelson (D-FL), and the tense Georgia governor race between Brian Kemp (R-GA) and Stacey Abrams (D-GA).
The Georgia race has been fraught with controversy, as allegations of voter suppression have persisted against Brian Kemp. According to The Atlantic, since Brian Kemp has become Georgia’s Secretary of State in 2010, he has successfully eliminated the voting rights of 1.4 million people, and implemented an “exact match” voting system—one where if your license and your voting registration don’t completely match down to the numbers, you will be turned away from the polls.
Breaking: Georgia and Florida’s governors races are still in play as margins narrow and votes are still coming in. Also major allegations of voter suppression in Georgia particularly in urban districts. Stay tuned!
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) November 7, 2018
The gubernatorial race was expected to be insanely close—and with a third-party candidate in the mix, Ted Metz, if neither Kemp nor Abrams could win unless they could prove a clear 50% majority. Without a 50% majority, the Georgia race would result in a runoff—a month more of ballot counting and campaigning.
BREAKING: This race is over, and @briankempga has won! Congratulations Governor-Elect Kemp!#gagop #gapol #tcot #TeamKemp pic.twitter.com/q5ZoqlQVPq
— GAGOP (@GaRepublicans) November 7, 2018
As of last night, Kemp and the Republican party have declared victory in Georgia with 50.3% of the votes to Abrams’ 48.7%. However, Abrams is refusing to concede, believing the race is not over as “there are votes remaining to be counted. Voices are waiting to be heard.”
As Abrams’ refusals to concede persist, the gap between Kemp and Abrams narrows. According to CBS, in the early morning hours of Wednesday, he was only 75,000 votes ahead out of the ballots counted.
Make no mistake: This race is not over.
As we have done since day one, my team will continue to work around the clock to make sure that every ballot is counted—because voting is the bedrock and lifeblood of our democracy.
Let’s get it done: https://t.co/N2q2Sr4RyY #gapol
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 7, 2018
Abrams has announced a legal team in response to Kemp’s premature declaration of victory and is continuing her campaign in the hopes of reaching a runoff campaign between her and Kemp.
Her Campus will continue to update as more develops.