In front of a steadfast crowd of loyal supporters just after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams reassured her allies that the race is far from over. The contender said voters could expect a runoff between her and Republican candidate Brian Kemp.
Under Georgia law, if a candidate fails to win more than 50 percent of the vote, then the top two candidates advance to a special runoff election.
"Georgia still has a decision to make," Abrams declared. "If I wasn't your first choice, or if you didn't vote, you're going to have a chance to do a do-over."
According to CNN, the race is too close to call.
With 99 percent of precincts reporting as of 7:20 a.m. EST, Kemp had 50.4 percent (1,966,368 votes); Abrams had 48.6 percent (1,897,759 votes), and Libertarian Party candidate Ted Metz had 0.9 percent (36,831 votes).
With votes nearing 3.8 million across the state, Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams' campaign manager, insists there are tens of thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted, and many of them are believed to be Abrams voters.
"Across our state, folks are opening up the dreams of voters in absentee ballots, and we believe our chance for a stronger Georgia is just within reach. But we cannot seize it until all voices are heard," Abrams announced to her unwavering group of supporters Wednesday morning. "And I promise you tonight: we're going to make sure that every vote is counted."
As Abrams looks to become the first Black women governor in the United States, her and Kemp's campaign has been riddled with accusations of voter suppression. Brian Kemp, who is Georgia's current secretary of state, has reportedly engaged in several attempts to annul African-American votes across Georgia.
Under Kemp's supervision, applications from 53,000 registered voters were left unprocessed, with 70 percent of those applications belonging to Black voters. Campaign officials also tried closing polling places in majority Black precincts.
"Friends, we are still on the verge of history," Abrams declared early Wednesday morning.
If the votes determine that both Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp finish below 50 percent, a Georgia gubernatorial runoff will occur on December 4.
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