One of the most highly-watched races in this year's midterm elections is about to come to an end as polls begin closing in the state of Georgia. Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp have been deadlocked in their battle for governor, with surveys showing the two separated by less than one percentage point just days before Tuesday's election.
Update: 10:45 a.m.
Abrams refuses to concede to Kemp, who is just 15,539 votes above the state's runoff threshold. Her campaign suggests that there are "incredible irregularities" in the vote when it comes to mail-in ballots and provisionals.
Kemp consistently held the lead throughout Tuesday night's election and is currently ahead of his Democratic opponent by nearly 68,000 votes with 99 percent of precincts reporting. But he only has 50.4 percent of the vote and if neither candidate can capture a definitive 50 percent, there will be a runoff in early December.
Update: 1:45 a.m.
Abrams addressed the crowd at her election night party in Georgia, telling the crowd that state may be headed to a runoff.
"Tonight we are going to make sure every vote is counted," Abrams said before criticizing Kemp for reports of voter suppression across the state. Kemp, the current secretary of state, is responsible for overseeing election procedures.
"I'm not going to name names but some have worked hard to take our voice away," Abrams added.
The exit polls remain locked at 51 to 48 percent, with Kemp in the lead. Not all precincts are reporting.
Update: 1:30 a.m.
Abrams' campaign manager says the Democrat is not conceding because they believe there are "tens of thousands" of absentee ballots from around the state that have yet to be counted. Her campaign believes those ballots come from Democratic-leaning districts.
Exit polls show Kemp leading Abrams 51 to 48 percent with 95 percent of precincts reporting.
Update: 12:00 a.m.
Kemp continues to lead Abrams with 92 percent of precincts reporting with 52 percent of the vote. But Abrams has cut her opponent's lead to six points.
Update: 11:30 p.m.
Kemp remains steady at 53 percent with 84 percent of precincts reporting in Georgia, Abrams still trailing her Republican opponent by 8 points.
Update: 11:00 p.m.
With 80 percent of precincts reporting, Abrams now trails Kemp by 8 percentage points. Kemp leading Abrams 53 to 45 percent.
Update: 10:30 p.m.
With over 50 percent of precincts reporting, Kemp leads with 54.7 percent of the vote. Abrams trails her Republican opponent by 200,000 votes.
Update: 10:00 p.m.
All polls are now closed in Georgia after a lawsuit won by the state's NAACP at the eleventh hour on Tuesday kept polling stations in three areas open until 10 p.m. Kemp still leading Abrams with 56 percent of the vote with 40 percent of precincts reporting. Abrams currently has 42.8 percent of the vote.
Update: 9:30 p.m.
Abrams is starting to make a small dent in Kemp's lead. She now has 44 percent of the vote with 30 percent of precincts reporting. Kemp still out ahead with 55 percent.
Update: 9:00 p.m.
With 27 percent of precincts reporting, Kemp still maintains a large lead over his Democratic challenger with 59.7 percent of the vote so far. Abrams has captured less than 40 percent and trails Kemp by 190,000 votes.
A group of voters in Georgia filed a last-minute lawsuit on Tuesday seeking to block Kemp from being involved in the counting of the votes, the certification of results or any potential recount circumstances. As secretary of state, Kemp would normally be overseeing such procedures.
Update: 8:30 p.m.
Brian Kemp is leading Stacey Abrams by nearly 30 percentage points with 16 percent of precincts reporting in Georgia. The Republican has 64.2 percent of the vote compared to Abrams' 35.2 percent.
The Georgia NAACP announced that it won a lawsuit that extends voting hours in two precincts near Spelman and Morehouse. Polling places in those two areas will now stay open until 10 p.m. per court orders.
Original Story
Early exit poll results show Kemp leading Abrams by over 30 percentage points with just two percent of the precincts reporting in Georgia's gubernatorial election. Due to technical problems, some polling stations will stay open until 9 p.m.
Abrams could make history as the first black female governor in U.S. history. The Democrat has garnered endorsements from high-profile Democrats like former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden. Last week, legendary talk show host and businesswoman Oprah Winfrey was in Georgia stumping on behalf of Abrams, telling voters that the Democrat was a "Georgia warrior woman" and a "change-maker."
Kemp, currently serving as Georgia's secretary of state, has the endorsement of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. The president just rallied for Kemp on Sunday afternoon, calling the Republican a "great leader."
But Kemp has come under fire for his handling of voter suppression in Georgia, an issue he is responsible for overseeing as secretary of state. At least 53,000 voter registration applications were placed on hold this year in the state, with 70 percent of those applications coming from black residents. On Tuesday, multiple polling problems were reported in Georgia, resulting in three polling places staying open later than originally intended.
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Alexandra Hutzler is currently a staff writer on Newsweek's politics team. Prior to joining Newsweek in summer 2018, she was ... Read more
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