![Republican Gov. Brian Kemp defeats Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia gubernatorial contest](https://www.theblaze.com/media-library/image.png?id=32064335&width=1245&height=700&quality=85&coordinates=0%2C0%2C0%2C107)
Photo (left): Megan Varner/Getty Images Photo (right): Megan Varner/Getty Images
Incumbent Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has defeated Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams in the state's nationally watched gubernatorial election, NBC News has projected.
If neither candidate had secured a majority of the votes, the contest would have headed to a December runoff.
\u201cBREAKING: Republican Brian Kemp wins re-election in Georgia governor's race, NBC News projects. https://t.co/rm3EekE2Ye\u201d— NBC News (@NBC News) 1667966617
The election marked a rematch between the two political rivals after Kemp defeated Abrams in the Peach State's 2018 governor's race.
Abrams would have been the first black woman in America to serve as a governor.
Kemp decisively defeated Trump-backed former U.S. Sen. David Perdue earlier this year during the GOP gubernatorial primary.
Abrams, whose candidacy was supported by left-wing mega donor George Soros, has claimed that being pro-choice is part of her faith. "I cannot strike down another person's rights simply because I don't agree," she said. Abrams also said that, according to her faith, "[Y]ou protect the vulnerable and you wrap them in your love."
In a 2018 campaign ad, she said that according to her reading of scripture, "Jesus Christ was a progressive."
Kemp signed pro-life legislation that bans most abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, though the ban does include some exceptions.
Abrams previously claimed that the 2018 gubernatorial election was not a fair contest. The New York Times Magazine reported in 2019 that the Democrat noted, "I legally acknowledge that Brian Kemp secured a sufficient number of votes under our existing system to become the governor of Georgia. I do not concede that the process was proper, nor do I condone that process." She also said that she had "legally sufficient doubt about the process to say that it was not a fair election."