Ossoff defeats Collins as Democrats win attorney general, secretary of state races
Stacey Abrams told NPR’s Michel Martin that Georgia’s Democratic victories for governor, attorney general, secretary of state and in the state House provide “us an opportunity to start correcting and restoring rights that we’ve seen lost across the South for more than 20 years.”
The wins extended beyond the governor’s office. Incumbent Sen. Jon Ossoff defended his Senate seat by defeating Republican Rep. Mike Collins, according to NPR. Democrats also won the contests for attorney general and secretary of state and secured seats in the state House.
Keisha Lance Bottoms’s victory in the governor’s race made history on two counts, according to NPR: she is the first Black woman elected governor of Georgia and the first Democrat in more than 20 years to hold the office.
The outcome followed Abrams’s campaigns for Georgia governor in 2018 and 2022 and her founding of Fair Fight Action, an organization she started to combat voter suppression. NPR reported that Abrams played a vital role in paving the way for future successes for her party in her home state.
Abrams said the work she has done has been about not only rebuilding the Democratic Party but also restoring people’s trust, which takes time. Each election cycle and the time in between, she said, has been about continuing that effort.
She added that she is grateful that the work to combat what she describes as voter suppression led to the outcome. Abrams said the result signals that conversation and consistency pay dividends.
The results put Bottoms in the governor’s office, kept Ossoff in the Senate and produced the opening Abrams described for correcting and restoring rights across the South.