Stacey Abrams qualifies for 2022 run for governor in Georgia

stacey abrams
Georgia gubernatorial Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams talks to the media after qualifying for the 2022 election on Tuesday, March 8, 2022, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Democrat Stacey Abrams became the biggest name so far to qualify to run for Georgia governor Tuesday, saying she is “trying again to do what’s right for Georgia” after losing narrowly to Republican Brian Kemp in 2018.

Abrams announced her run in December and does not yet have any declared Democratic opposition. Kemp’s reelection is being challenged in his own party by former U.S. Sen. David Perdue and other Republicans. Kemp and Perdue plan to qualify later this week, before ballots are set Friday.

The 48-year-old Abrams was a state lawmaker with little profile outside Georgia when she began her 2018 race for governor, looking to become the state’s first Black and first female governor. Four years later, she is entering the contest as a national political titan widely credited for helping swing Georgia to the Democratic column in the presidential election for the first time since 1992 and for shifting control of the Senate to Democrats after two runoff victories.