Former Democratic state legislative leader Stacey Abrams will not challenge Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) next year, a blow to Democrats who hoped to make inroads in a state Republicans have controlled for nearly two decades.
In a video posted to Twitter, Abrams said she didn’t believe serving in the Senate would be the best use of her desire to serve the public.
{mosads}”I will not be a candidate for the United States Senate,” Abrams said. “The fights to be waged require a deep commitment to the job, and I do not see the U.S. Senate as the best role for me in this battle for our nation’s future.”
Abrams met with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) to tell him of her decision on Monday, a source confirmed to The Hill.
Abrams, who became a fundraising juggernaut during her unsuccessful 2018 bid for governor in Georgia, is the latest in a string of potentially big-name Democratic candidates who have declined to run for Senate seats next year.
Some, like former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D), have opted to run for president instead. Others, like North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein (D), have said they will continue serving their current posts.
Abrams, who has toyed with a possible presidential campaign, did not say what she will do next. She has said previously that she believes she has until the fall to mount a last-minute presidential bid.
“I still don’t know exactly what’s next for me,” Abrams said. “Over the coming weeks, you’ll be hearing more from me and my team about groundbreaking initiatives to protect the right to vote and to increase the participations of Americans in setting the course for Georgia and the future of our country.”
Democrats may now turn to Jon Ossoff, a candidate who raised more than $30 million during a narrow loss in a special election contest in the Atlanta suburbs in 2017. Ossoff has been stumping around the state in informal town hall meetings since last year, raising Democratic hopes that he would mount a bid if Abrams said no.
Perdue, serving his first term in the Senate, won his seat by a 53 to 45 percent margin over nonprofit executive Michelle Nunn in 2014. President Trump won Georgia by a narrower margin, 51 to 46 percent, in 2016.