Stacey Abrams, who earned national exposure in a closer-than-expected Georgia gubernatorial bid last year, said Monday that she won’t run for president in 2020.
The announcement came at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas. Abrams said “2028 would be the earliest I would be ready to stand for president,” according to reports.
Abrams previously served as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives and was defeated for governor in 2018 by then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican. After losing to Kemp 50.2-49.8%, Abrams has emerged as a rising figure in Democratic politics nationwide.
Abrams delivered the Democratic rebuttal to President Trump’s State of the Union address in February. Around the time of the speech Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called her “a great spokesperson.”
[Read more: Trump: Stacey Abrams ‘will have a terrific political future’]
Abrams did not commit to any upcoming election in Georgia in either 2020 or 2022. Republican Sen. David Perdue is up for reelection in 2020, or she could run against Kemp two years after that.
Despite calling Trump “racist” at Monday’s event, she encouraged the crowded field of Democrats vying to challenge him in the upcoming election to remain civil.
“Any presidential campaign that focuses solely on trying to out-Trump Trump is destined for failure. I don’t want to elect the best bully. I want us to elect the best person,” Abrams said.
