Stacey Abrams: 'Now 2020 is definitely on the table...'

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Months after her surprisingly narrow defeat in the Georgia governor's race, speculation surrounding the political future of Stacey Abrams remains up in the air. But Monday, Abrams said she isn’t ruling anything out, including vying for the nation’s highest office.

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Abrams took to Twitter after a discussion about her new book “Lead from the Outside” hosted by the PBS NewsHours’ Yamiche Alcindor focusing on the Georgia Democrat during the South by Southwest festival and conference in Austin.

Abrams wrote in her tweet:

“In #LeadFromTheOutside, I explore how to be intentional about plans, but flexible enough to adapt. 20 years ago, I never thought I’d be ready to run for POTUS before 2028. But life comes at you fast - as I shared in Q&A w @Yamiche at @sxsw. Now 2020 is definitely on the table...”

Abrams was the first black female gubernatorial candidate to run in the United States. She has been a shooting star in her political party, being courted to run for everything from Senate to another shot at governor in four years. While there have been quiet rumblings about her pursuing the presidency, she had previously said she would wait eight years.

Since the race was officially certified, the former Georgia House Minority Leader has bounced from political gatherings in Las Vegas and Washington to debating societies in Oxford, England, not to mention an Atlanta union hall where she delivered this year's Democratic response to President Donald Trump's State of the Union.

Those close to Abrams say one of her key considerations is how she can make the biggest impact on the issues she cares about most. She ran for governor promising to expand Medicaid insurance, prioritize spending on public education and continue to overhaul Georgia's criminal justice system.

She's added a full-throated discourse on voting rights since her gubernatorial campaign was marred by allegations that the victor, Republican Brian Kemp, used his previous post as secretary of state to make it harder for poor and middle-class Georgians to vote. Kemp vehemently denies wrongdoing.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is trying to coax Abrams into challenging Republican Sen. David Perdue in 2020 and has made voting rights a central pillar of his pitch.

Her advocacy work since the election has focused most directly on Georgia, potentially positioning her for a 2022 rematch against Kemp. She morphed her campaign operation into a political action group, Fair Fight, focused on election law and ballot access. She's testified in front of a congressional hearing on voting matters and is pushing for a paper ballot system in Georgia.

Lauren Groh-Wargo, Abrams' longtime adviser and friend who ran her 2018 gubernatorial bid, previously said Abrams won't "foreclose any option until she has to."

But Groh-Wargo argued that an ability to advocate for voting rights will be crucial in Abrams' decision process.

Abram’s new book is written with an eye toward the challenges that hinder women, people of color, the working class, members of the LGBTQ community, and millennials ready to make a change. The book candidly discusses her career in politics and business and how gender and race have impacted her.

If Abrams does announce, she will among a crowded field of Democratic candidates, many of which are also attending the trendy tech South by Southwest festival in Austin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. FOX 5 News reported this story from Atlanta.