Democratic presidential candidate Cory Booker said Monday former candidate for Georgia governor, Stacey Abrams, lost her 2018 bid for the state’s executive mansion due to voter suppression by Republicans.
“If it wasn’t for mass voter suppression, @StaceyAbrams would be the governor of Georgia right now,” the New Jersey senator said. “Protecting the right to vote is one of the most important challenges of our time. We need a modern-day Voting Rights Act.”
If it wasn’t for mass voter suppression, @StaceyAbrams would be the governor of Georgia right now. Protecting the right to vote is one of the most important challenges of our time. We need a modern-day Voting Rights Act.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) January 6, 2020
Abrams lost the election to then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican who earned 50% of the vote.
It was a record turnout for a nonpresidential election in Georgia, up 70% from the last.
Just days before the election, the Abrams campaign alleged the Georgia Secretary of State office, led by Kemp, had delayed the registration of more than 50,000 voters. Abrams argued this disproportionately affected black voters and tipped the contest in Kemp’s favor.
Since losing her bid for Georgia governor, Abrams has started a nonprofit political firm seeking to reduce voter suppression around the country.
Booker is the only remaining black candidate in a shrinking 2020 Democratic field.
Abrams has said she would be open to the possibility of being the eventual nominee’s vice president.
