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Stacey Abrams Promises She'll Be Back: "I Do Indeed Intend to Run for Office Again"


Just two days after ending her Georgia campaign to become the first black female governor in the United States, Stacey Abrams indicated that her political ambitions are far from over. The Democratic candidate said in an interview with CNN’s State Of The Union that although she wants to take a break following her highly contested gubernatorial race in Georgia, she still plans to run for office some day.

“I’m going to spend the next year as a private citizen, but I do indeed intend to run for office again,” Abrams said. “I’m not sure for what, and I am not exactly certain when. I need to take a nap, but once I do, I’m planning to get back into the ring.”

Following the midterm elections earlier this month, Abrams had refused to concede the nail-biter of a race to her opponent, Republican Brian Kemp, saying that she wanted to wait until every single vote had been counted. After an intensely publicized 10-day standoff, she finally recognized Kemp as governor-elect but used a fiery speech to call out voter suppression tactics and said she would be filing a federal lawsuit challenging the election’s “gross mismanagement.”

Abrams’ campaign had been embraced by many high-profile celebrities, including Michael B. Jordan, Uzo Aduba, Rashida Jones, and even Oprah, who helped rack up support by going door-to-door in Georgia—and fired back at a racist robocall that had targeted her and Abrams by urging voters to make their voices heard in the face of ugly political tactics.

“I acknowledge that former Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified as the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election,” Abrams said Friday in a speech announcing the end of her bid. “But to watch an elected official who claims to represent the people in this state baldly pin his hopes for election on suppression of the people’s democratic right to vote has been truly appalling.”

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Cynthia Nixon Promises to Keep Fighting After Losing Her Bid for Governor


Activist and actress-turned-gubernatorial candidateCynthia Nixon lost her highly publicized bid for New York governor on Thursday night, with her opponent and incumbent governor Andrew Cuomo cinching about 65 percent of votes.

Despite the defeat, Nixon left her supporters with a rousing concession speech, in which she urged progressives to continue fighting for change and pushing for equality in New York and across the rest of the country.

“This is not a time to settle for the way things are, or sit back and hope for things to change,” she said. “This is a time to fight. As long as New York remains the single most unequal state in the country, we will keep fighting.”

Nixon had positioned herself as a progressive alternative to Cuomo and promised to change the status quo. Had she won, the former Sex and The City star would have been the state’s first female and openly gay governor, and her platform included championing LGBTQ causes, as well as solutions for racial and economic injustice.

In a statement to Glamour after announcing her candidacy, she explained how the election of Donald Trump was a “wake-up” call to women who have launched political campaigns this year in unprecedented numbers.

“I’ve been humbled and inspired by the thousands of women who are running for office for the first time. And today, I am honored to join their ranks,” she said.

Nixon, like recent progressive candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, had pledged not to take any corporate campaign money and eventually secured a record number of small donors that helped her pull 30 percent of votes. She ended up raising about $2.5 million—just a fraction of the $25 million Cuomo reportedly spent on television ads and mailers, according to the New York Times. Buzzfeed reported that Cuomo’s spending per day was almost the same amount of Nixon’s total.

In her speech on Thursday, Nixon praised the gains her campaign had made despite being up against Cuomo’s hefty budget, and said she was inspired rather than discouraged.

“Before a single vote was cast, we have already won. We have fundamentally changed the political landscape in this state,” she said. “This campaign changed expectations about what is possible in New York state.”

She also evoked the achievements of recent progressive candidates, such as Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley, who have toppled long-standing incumbents and represent a new era of progressive politics. She urged Democrats to “stand for something” and take back the party while encouraging a new generation to keep pushing forward.

“This is an incredible moment for progressives, but it is not just a moment. it is a movement, and this movement is only growing stronger… To all the young people. To all the young women. To all the young queer people who reject the gender binary. Soon you’ll be standing here, and when it’s your turn, you’ll win,” she said.

MORE: With Letitia James’ Primary Win, New York Could See Its First Black Female Attorney General





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