'Time to Get the Job Done': Stacey Abrams Launches New Georgia Gubernatorial Bid

Declaring that "opportunity in our state shouldn't be determined by zip code, background, or access to power," attorney, author, and voting rights campaigner Stacey Abrams announced Wednesday that she would once again seek the Democratic nomination for Georgia governor, setting up a rematch with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the November 2022 contest.

"Abrams already came well within striking distance of Brian Kemp in 2018—before she mobilized millions of Democrats to flip Georgia blue in 2020."

"If our Georgia is going to move to its next and greatest chapter, we're going to need leadership," Abrams said in her announcement video. "Leadership that knows how to do the job, leadership that doesn't take credit without taking responsibility, leadership that understands the true pain folks are feeling and has real plans."

"That's the job of governor, to fight for one Georgia—our Georgia," she added. "And now, it's time to get the job done."

Abrams, who served a decade in the Georgia House of Representatives, was the first Black female nominated for a major party's gubernatorial candidacy in U.S. history. She narrowly lost the 2018 Georgia governor's race to Kemp amid widespread evidence of GOP voter suppression efforts.

Democratic Governors Association executive director Noam Lee called Abrams "a powerhouse leader who has spent her life fighting for equal opportunity for all Georgians."

"With a historic campaign built on expanding access to healthcare and creating good-quality jobs, Abrams already came well within striking distance of Brian Kemp in 2018—before she mobilized millions of Democrats to flip Georgia blue in 2020," Lee told The Washington Post. "Now more than ever, it's clear Brian Kemp's days as governor are numbered."

While there was much talk of a 2020 presidential run for Abrams, she instead chose to focus on boosting voter turnout to help ensure that Georgia played a critical role in electing President Joe Biden and that the U.S. Senate passed from Republican to Democratic control with the election of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in January.

In addition to her pro-democracy work, Abrams has drawn widespread praise for paying down over $1.3 million in medical debt via her Fair Fight political action committee.

"Stacey Abrams' decision to run for governor of Georgia in 2022 is great news for the people of her state and for America."

The trouncing suffered by GOP candidates in the November 2020 and January 2021 elections motivated Georgia Republicans to pass one of the nation's most sweeping voter suppression laws, as well as to gerrymander the state's congressional districts to heavily favor the right-wing party.

While Abrams—a self-described "pragmatic" politician—has been criticized by some progressives for being too closely aligned with the corporate right wing of the Democratic Party, at least one progressive advocacy group has already endorsed her candidacy.

"Stacey Abrams' decision to run for governor of Georgia in 2022 is great news for the people of her state and for America," Ben Jealous, president of People for the American Way, said in a statement.

"Stacey has been a leader and a fighter for justice and civil rights throughout the decades I have known her," he added. "She is a person of profound integrity, empathy, courage, and intellect who as governor will work tirelessly to ensure all Georgians have access to the opportunity to succeed and to live healthy and fulfilling lives."