Stacey Abrams Abandons 2026 Political Bid to Combat Authoritarianism

Two-time Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said she won’t run again, instead preparing for a fight against “authoritarianism.”

“Americans are in pain but they are ready to act, and now is the moment to reconnect to what is at stake and what is possible,” Abrams, a Democrat, said in a statement. “It’s clear to me that the most effective way I can serve right now is by continuing to do this important work.”

“For that reason, I will not seek elected office in 2026.”

In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Abrams narrowly lost to Republican Brian Kemp and refused to concede. She also lost her 2022 rematch against Kemp by nearly 8 points.

After her 2018 defeat, Abrams launched the Fair Fight political organization, which has a stated mission to combat voter suppression, increase voter participation, educate voters on their rights, and advocate for election integrity.

With Abrams’ help, Georgia flipped blue in 2020, voting in former President Joe Biden and two Democrat senators.

Abrams also founded two other nonprofits: the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund. But she faced controversy over allegations that the groups violated state law in campaigning for her but not registering as a political committee. The groups were fined $300,000 in January 2025.

Abrams, former minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, said in her statement that she will keep fighting to protect democracy.

“The antidote to authoritarianism and its harms has always been democracy; and I have long believed that democracy requires active engagement and staunch defenders,” she wrote. “But democracy is experienced by the vast majority through the work of government — when it fails, we are all imperiled.”

Georgia voters will choose their next governor on November 3 in the state’s general election. The election will determine who succeeds Kemp, who cannot run for a third consecutive term due to Georgia’s term limits.