A former Democratic congressman from Georgia said Wednesday that Stacey Abrams should consider moving on from her fight for governor and look ahead to a 2020 Senate run against David Perdue (R., Ga.).
Although Buddy Darden, who represented Georgia's 7th Congressional District for five terms, didn't outright call on Abrams to concede, he said on Georgia Public Broadcasting's "Political Rewind" that it was "pretty evident" the contest would soon be certified in favor of Republican Brian Kemp, who leads by nearly 55,000 votes.
"It's pretty evident that it's going to be certified in favor of Brian Kemp winning the governor's race, but the minute that certification takes place, Stacey Abrams ought to launch a campaign for the United States Senate," he said. "Never stop. Keep using this energy. Keep using these new voters. Keep using the changes she's brought about, and they've been good changes she's brought about."
Perdue, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, is in the middle of his first term after defeating Democrat Michelle Nunn in 2014.
Abrams, a Georgia state legislator, has attracted national attention in her race against Kemp as she attempts to become the first black female governor in U.S. history. The Kemp campaign has called on her to concede the race, saying the math isn't there for her to force a runoff, but she's continued to fight with lawsuits over provisional and absentee ballots.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution writer Greg Bluestein said on the show that Abrams had the political star power to clear the field if she chose to challenge Perdue, responding to the host's contention that it was the underlying motive for her to keep fighting the governor's race.
"There is a legitimate chance that she is going to run for Senate in 2020," Bluestein said, noting she'd made no public remarks about it. "There's a whole range of other Democrat contenders who are thinking about challenging David Perdue, but she'd clear the field, I imagine, in a heartbeat, especially after getting 49 percent of the vote in this election."
More Jolt: The first Georgia Democrat publicly suggests that it may be time for Stacey Abrams to look at the U.S. Senate race in 2020: https://t.co/4wh6Ufq31j
— Patricia Murphy (@politicalinsidr) November 15, 2018