Stacey Abrams, the two-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate from Georgia, said in a recent interview that she never denied losing her 2018 race against Gov. Brian Kemp but instead redefined what “victory” meant to her supporters, as reported [1] by Fox News.
Speaking Monday with MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace on her podcast The Best People, Abrams was asked about her continued influence within the Democratic Party and her refusal to concede to Kemp after the 2018 election.
Wallace praised Abrams as a “badass” before asking her to elaborate on her definition of political victory.
“In 2018, when I lost my election, I was never confused about it,” Abrams said. “I had conversations with communities, and I would say, ‘We won’, and that just would send people into these, you know, paroxysms of hatred. What I was telling them is: ‘Look, not getting the title did not mean that we didn’t make progress.’”
At the time of the 2018 election, Abrams, who was serving in the Georgia House of Representatives, accused Kemp—then secretary of state—of overseeing policies that suppressed voters.
While she did not formally concede, she acknowledged Kemp as the legitimate governor “under the rules that were in place.” She has since maintained that she did not “challenge” the outcome of the race.
In the interview, Abrams expanded on her reasoning, arguing that social progress should be considered a form of victory even when Democrats lose at the ballot box.
“When you are trying to defend democracy, when you’re trying to serve the people, progress counts as victory. Because their goal is your silence, their goal is your complicity. Their goal is your subjugation. Every day we remain free, that is progress,” she said.
Abrams added that Democrats will continue to face setbacks if they only measure success by election results.
“But if we have to wait for this large announcement, like elections, to say that ‘This is when we win,’ we’re going to keep losing,” she said. “I say ‘Let’s look for the small interstitial victories we can grasp—those small moments of progress we can make—because that adds up to the actual victory we’re trying to get to.’”
Abrams, who lost a second gubernatorial campaign to Kemp in 2022, has not ruled out another run for office. Her remarks come as she continues to be a prominent voice in Democratic politics, focusing on voting rights and civic engagement while defending her approach to past losses.