Stacey Abrams announces bid for Georgia governor in 2022

Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams announced Wednesday that she will launch a campaign for Georgia governor in 2022.

Abrams, a former top Democrat in the Georgia House of Representatives who became a prominent voting rights advocate following her loss to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018's gubernatorial election, shared a video saying she would make another run for the office "because opportunity in our state shouldn't be determined by zip code, background or access to power."

Abrams lost to Kemp, who was serving as Georgia's secretary of state at the time, by 1.4 points. She declined to give a formal concession after she accused Kemp and state Republicans of suppressing the vote.

The next year she delivered the Democratic response to former President Donald Trump's 2019 state of the union and was credited with organizing voting efforts that helped Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win their runoff Senate races, giving the party control of the chamber.

"That's the job of governor -- to fight for one Georgia, our Georgia," Abrams said in her announcement video. "And now, it is time to get the job done."

In March, Kemp signed a sweeping voting law imposing voter ID requirements, limiting ballot drop boxes and allowing the state to take over local elections.

He responded to the news of Abrams' announcement by criticizing her "far-left agenda" stating that "woke politics would be the law of the land" in the state if she were elected.

"Next November's election for governor is a battle for the soul of our state," he said. "I'm in the fight against Stacey Abrams, the failed Biden agenda and their woke allies to keep Georgia the best place to live, work and raise a family."