Republican Gov. Brian Kemp defeats Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia gubernatorial contest

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.

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."