Gov. Brian Kemp criticizes Major League Baseball over All-Star Game after Braves' NLCS victory

ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans took the Atlanta Braves National League Championship Series victory as an opportunity to dig at Major League Baseball and Democrats. 

Kemp was critical of Major League Baseball when it moved to re-locate its All-Star Game from Truist Park in Cobb County to Denver, Colorado, in response to a bill that made changes to election procedures in Georgia. 

In a Tweet after Saturday's game, Kemp said Stacey Abrams and MLB "stole the All-Star Game from hard-working Georgians."

Kemp was not the only Republican to chime in after the Braves punched a ticket to the World Series, which will begin Tuesday in Houston. 

Kemp defended election reforms following Major League Baseball's decision to move the 2021 All-Star Game and draft out of Georgia in protest. Kemp called MLB's decision "ridiculous" and said the Election Integrity Act of 2021 "ensures the integrity of the ballot box."

"Secure, accessible, fair elections are worth the threats," Kemp said. "They are worth the boycotts, as well as the lawsuits."

Kemp was quick to call MLB's move ironic at the peak of the All-Star Game controversy. He visited minority-owned businesses at The Battery Atlanta. He accused MLB of bowing to "cancel culture."

Georgia's 2021 election bill faces multiple lawsuits and backlash that's placed Georgia in the political spotlight. Kemp has publicly maintained some of Georgia's election policies under the new law are less restrictive than other states, while its critics characterize it as suppressive, particularly to minority voters. Kemp said MLB's decision reflects a lack of courage. 

Cobb County Commissioner Chairworm Lisa Cupid publicly and privately lobbied with MLB to keep the game at Truist Park.

Abrams did not respond to Kemp's comments on Sunday morning. Prior to the re-location of the All-Star Game, Abrams argued against economic boycotts in an essay for USA Today. Her positions on the issue prompted Kemp to call her "the biggest flip-flopper since John Kerry."

The game was scheduled for July 13 at Truist Park, the Braves’ 41,000-seat stadium in suburban Cobb County. It would have been the third time Atlanta served as host, having previously held the event in 1972 and 2000.

The Associated Press and FOX News contributed to this report.

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