Stacey Abrams launches Fair Fight initiative in Georgia
SNELLVILLE, Ga. (FOX 5 Atlanta) - Democrat Stacey Abrams launched a new multistate voter protection initiative in Georgia on Saturday.
Abrams launched her Fair Fight 2020 campaign Saturday in Snellville.
Since her loss in the Georgia governor's race last year to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams has focused on the development of Fair Fight Georgia, a political action committee geared toward the advocacy of voter rights and fair elections in the state. Abrams, along with others, filed a lawsuit alleging serious flaws within the overall election process in the state.
The new initiative will staff, fund, and train voter protection operations in 20 battleground states this year ahead of the upcoming presidential election.
In a speech Saturday, she laid out the problems that her campaign says it is trying to fix.
Abrams noted that Gwinnett County, a populous metro Atlanta county that turned Democratic last year, has become one of the state's most diverse.
"On that day Nov. 6, Gwinnett proved that you are the future. But that we are still mired in a past of voter suppression. And voter intimidation. And mistakes made," she said with enthusiasm to a crowded gymnasium at Annistown Elementary School in Snellville. "But we are going to correct those mistakes in 2020."
She said to have a fair fight in Georgia, there should be one rule for the state - not 159.
"What we're going to do through Fair Fight 2020 is we're going to fight back. But we're fighting early. We're doing this now. We're not waiting until we have a nominee," Abrams said. "Because no matter who the Democratic nominee is - they're going to win Georgia."
Abrams insisted that Georgia is not the only state with problems. She also pledged to use her energies and her newfound national platform for pointing out voter irregularities across the nation.
"I'm going to use my energies and my very, very loud voice to raise the money we need to train those across the country in our 20 battleground states to make sure Donald Trump and the Senate take a hike, and we put people in place who know what we need to have in the United States of America," she said.
The announcement follows months of speculation over what Abrams' next move in politics might be, including whether she would join the crowded field of 2020 presidential hopefuls as she had mused. But that notion was put to rest earlier this week. Her decision to remain on the sidelines of the Democratic fray leaves her as a prime potential vice presidential pick and keeps the door open to a possible 2022 rematch against Kemp.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.