Stacey Abrams Effectively Ended Her Campaign But Refused to “Concede.” Watch Her Rousing Speech.

“Democracy failed Georgia,” she said.

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On Friday afternoon, Stacey Abrams appeared to end her campaign to become Georgia’s next governor, but she refused to say that she conceded. 

“I will not concede because the erosion of our democracy is not right,” she said in an impassioned speech before supporters.

Instead, Abrams acknowledged that her Republican opponent, former Georgia secretary of state Brian Kemp, would be certified as the next governor and that there wasn’t a “viable” path forward for her candidacy. Even still, she announced that she intends to file a “major federal lawsuit” against the state “for the gross mismanagement of this election and to protect future elections from unconstitutional actions.”

The speech was an indictment of Kemp, who, as secretary of state, disenfranchised thousands of voters, predominately minorities. “To watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in this state boldly pin his hopes in this election on the people’s democratic right to vote has been truly appalling,” Abrams said.

She added later: “Make no mistake: The former secretary of state was deliberate and intentional in his actions. I know that eight years of systemic disenfranchisement, disinvestment, and incompetence had its desired effect on the electoral process in Georgia.”

Watch the full speech below:

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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