Democrat Stacey Abrams ended her challenge to Republican Brian Kemp in the Georgia governor's race on Friday, but pledged to fight the former secretary of state's "gross mismanagement" of the elections with a federal lawsuit.
Speaking defiantly to a news conference, Abrams said her actions did not constitute a concession, but she acknowledged that she had no further recourse under the law and that Kemp would be certified the winner.
"Let's be clear: This is not a speech of concession," she said. "Because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith I cannot concede that."
Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams makes remarks during a press conference at the Abrams Headquarters in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Democrat Stacey Abrams says she will file a federal lawsuit to challenge the "gross mismanagement" of Georgia elections. Abrams made the comments in a Friday speech, shortly after she said she can't win the race, effectively ending her challenge to Republican Brian Kemp. (Alyssa PointerAtlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
In accepting Abrams' decision to end her campaign, Kemp said he appreciated "her passion, hard work, and commitment to public service."
"The election is over and hardworking Georgians are ready to move forward," he said. "We can no longer dwell on the divisive politics of the past but must focus on Georgia's bright and promising future."
Kemp, a 55-year-old businessman, had been secretary of state since 2010. He was backed by and had embraced President Donald Trump as he tried to maintain GOP dominance in a state that hasn't elected a Democrat to the governor's mansion since 1998.
Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams makes remarks during a press conference at the Abrams Headquarters in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Democrat Stacey Abrams says she will file a federal lawsuit to challenge the "gross mismanagement" of Georgia elections. Abrams made the comments in a Friday speech, shortly after she said she can't win the race, effectively ending her challenge to Republican Brian Kemp. (Alyssa PointerAtlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
He was heavily criticized for refusing to step down from his post overseeing elections in which he was a candidate. Abrams' campaign accused him of trying to suppress the votes of minorities by purging voter rolls and implementing a state law requiring that the names of voters on their registration forms exactly match those on their government identification. Kemp said he was trying to maintain the integrity of Georgia's voter rolls.
Officials from Abrams' campaign had told The Associated Press on Thursday that the candidate was considering the unprecedented move of invoking a state law that would let her challenge the results based on "misconduct, fraud or irregularities ... sufficient to change or place in doubt the results."
But ultimately she declined to do so.
Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams makes remarks during a press conference at the Abrams Headquarters in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Democrat Stacey Abrams says she will file a federal lawsuit to challenge the "gross mismanagement" of Georgia elections. Abrams made the comments in a Friday speech, shortly after she said she can't win the race, effectively ending her challenge to Republican Brian Kemp. (Alyssa PointerAtlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Instead, Abrams said she would fight to restore integrity to Georgia's election system in a new initiative called "Fair Fight Georgia."
"In the coming days, we will be filing a major federal lawsuit against the state of Georgia for the gross mismanagement of this election and to protect future elections," Abrams said. She did not give details.
Abrams also said she would support John Barrow, the Democrat vying to succeed Kemp as secretary of state in a runoff next month.
Supporters of Georgia Gubernatorial Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams listen as she ends her campaign during a press conference at the Abrams Headquarters in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. Abrams ended her challenge to Republican Brian Kemp in the Georgia governor's race on Friday, but pledged to fight the former secretary of state's "gross mismanagement" of the elections with a federal lawsuit. (Alyssa PointerAtlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Kemp stormed to the GOP nomination with ads featuring everything from the candidate cranking a chain saw and jokingly pointing a gun toward a teen male suitor of his daughter, to Kemp's offer to "round up criminal illegals" himself in his pickup truck. He's promised a tax cut and teacher pay raises and pledged to continue Georgia's refusal to expand Medicaid insurance under President Barack Obama's 2010 health care overhaul.
Abrams' campaign sparked huge energy across the state and she became a national Democratic star. Election turnout among both sides' energized bases nearly equaled that of the 2016 presidential vote.
Aides close to Abrams said that since the election she had been wrestling with competing priorities: She wanted to advance her assertions that Georgia's elections process makes it too hard for some citizens to vote. But she also recognized that a protracted legal fight would harm that cause and potentially her political future.
Kemp's victory is an important marker for Republicans ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Kemp's narrow margin already suggests that Georgia, a state Trump won by 5 percentage points in 2016, could be a genuine battleground in 2020. Trump bet big on Kemp, endorsing him ahead of Kemp's Republican primary runoff and campaigning for him the weekend prior to the Nov. 6 election. Now, Trump will be able to return with an incumbent governor as he seeks a second term.
Abrams' political future is less certain. She made believers of old-guard Democrats in Georgia who didn't think a black woman could compete in a general election, and she emerged as the party's clear leader. But the party also has plenty of other ambitious politicians who will want to take advantage of the path that Abrams' has laid out. The next big shot for Democrats is a 2020 Senate race, with Republican Sen. David Perdue making his first re-election attempt.
Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP and Brumback at https://twitter.com/katebrumback.
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union.
Prime Minister Miloš Vučević's government got backing in a 152-61 vote in the 250-member parliament. The remaining 37 lawmakers were absent.
The government includes former intelligence chief Aleksandar Vulin, who has made several visits to Russia in recent months, as one of several vice-premiers, along with Nenad Popović, another Russia supporter who has faced U.S. sanctions.
The foreign minister in the previous government, Ivica Dačić, also a pro-Russia politician, will be in charge of the Interior Ministry in the new Cabinet.
The vote followed a heated two-day debate. President Aleksandar Vučić's ruling nationalist conservative Serbian Progressive Party holds a comfortable majority after an election in December that fueled political tensions because of reports of widespread irregularities.
The increasingly authoritarian Vučić has refused to join Western sanctions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though Serbia has condemned the aggression.
Vučević, the new prime minister, reiterated that Belgrade doesn't intend to impose sanctions on Russia and “cannot and will not give up" the friendship with Russia. Integration into the EU remains a ”strategic goal," Vucevic said.
"Best possible” relations with the U.S. also are in Serbia's interest, Vučević added. “I firmly believe that our relations can once again be on a high level.”
Security analyst and a Belgrade university professor Filip Ejdus described the new government's composition as a “spin" designed to send a message both to the West and Russia, and to voters at home.
“It sends a message to the EU that they should not push Belgrade too much over democracy, rule of law, or Kosovo if they want to keep Serbia in its orbit,” Ejdus said. “At the same time, it signals to Moscow a readiness to strengthen the strategic partnership with Russia.”
The U.S. imposed sanctions on Vulin in July, accusing him of involvement in illegal arms shipments, drug trafficking and misuse of public office.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said that Vulin used his public authority to help a U.S.-sanctioned Serbian arms dealer move illegal arms shipments across Serbia’s borders. Vulin is also accused of involvement in a drug trafficking ring, according to U.S. authorities.
Vulin, who in the past had served as both the army and police chief, has recently received two medals of honor from Russia, one from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, and the other was awarded to him by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Popović, a businessman and a former government minister, has “used his Russia-based businesses to enrich himself and gain close connections with Kremlin senior leaders,” the U.S. Treasury said last November in a statement.
The U.S. sanctions against individuals and companies in the Balkans are designed to counter attempts to undermine peace and stability in the volatile region and Russia's “malign” influence.
The West has stepped up efforts to lure the troubled region into its fold, fearing that Russia could stir unrest to avert attention from the war in Ukraine. The Balkans went through multiple wars in the 1990s, and tensions still persist.
Serbia's falling democracy record has pushed the country away from EU integration, explained Ejdus. Reports of election fraud at the Dec. 17 vote triggered street protests and clashes.
“Vučić is still pretending to be on the EU path because it’s beneficial for Serbia’s economy, and the EU tolerates his authoritarian tendencies out of fear of instability that could be caused in its backyard if Belgrade was lost to Russia and China,” Ejdus said.
Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia's intelligence agency, right, smiles during a parliament session while Serbia's prime minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Serbia's new government will include a former intelligence chief, Aleksandar Vulin who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia's Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia's Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia's former Prime Minister and Parliament speaker Ana Brnabic, left, speaks with Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic at the parliament session during her cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia's Prime Minister designate Milos Vucevic presents a plan for the new government to the parliament members in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic, front, speaks with Aleksandar Vulin, former director of Serbia's intelligence agency, who has fostered close ties with Russia and is sanctioned by the United States at the parliament session during the cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, left, kisses Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic after taking the oath during the cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbia's new Prime Minister Milos Vucevic and ministers of the new government of Serbia read their oaths at the parliament session during her cabinet's swearing in ceremony at the Serbian Parliament building in Belgrade, Serbia, Thursday, May 2, 2024. Serbian lawmakers on Thursday voted into office a new government that reinstated two pro-Russia officials who are sanctioned by the United States, reflecting persistent close ties with Moscow despite the Balkan nation's proclaimed bid to join the European Union. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
