Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her 2018 gubernatorial race in Georgia, said she would be “honored” to be considered as a running mate for any of the two dozen Democrats running for president next year.
“I would be honored to be considered by any nominee,” she said in an interview with The New York Times that was published Wednesday.
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Abrams, whose insurgent gubernatorial bid last year shot her to national prominence, was the subject of speculation that she was considering a White House run of her own. However, she announced Tuesday that she would instead work to combat voter suppression and increase participation in the 2020 census.
The Georgia Democrat has cited voter suppression as a reason for her defeat, noting the removal of thousands of people who had failed to cast ballots in recent elections from voting rolls and hours-long lines at some precincts.
“I’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks, and I’ve just come to the decision that my best value add, the strongest contribution I can give to this primary, would be to make sure our nominee is coming into an environment where there’s strong voter protections in place,” she told the Times.
Abrams added that she did not want to wage a campaign “simply because the office is available” and that she’s “been pleased with the direction of the field,” urging all the candidates to also prioritize voter suppression and campaign in Georgia.
Besides the White House, Abrams was also aggressively courted by Senate Minority Leader Charles SchumerChuck SchumerOvernight Health Care: US showing signs of retreat in battle against COVID-19 | Regeneron begins clinical trials of potential coronavirus antibody treatment | CMS warns nursing homes against seizing residents’ stimulus checks Schumer requests briefing with White House coronavirus task force as cases rise Schumer on Trump’s tweet about 75-year-old protester: He ‘should go back to hiding in the bunker’ MORE (D-N.Y.) to try to transfer her momentum from her 2018 race to a challenge against Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.). However, she announced in April that she would not run for Senate.
“I’m certainly open to other political opportunities,” Abrams told the Times. “My decision not to run for the Senate was because I do not want to serve in the Senate. I think that there are people who are running who are the right people for that job. And I’m going to do my best to ensure that they can become the senator from Georgia. And that means fighting voter suppression.”
Several White House candidates have vowed or suggested they would pick a female running mate if nominated. Sen. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants Black lawmakers unveil bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-N.J.) vowed in April to pick a woman as his vice president, while former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) said in March it would be “very difficult not to select a woman” as his running mate.
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