Stacey Abrams cites famous Bible verse invoking persecution of early church in concession speech: 'Persecuted, but not forsaken'

Democrat Stacey Abrams invoked a well-known Bible verse in her concession speech Tuesday in an apparent comparison of her situation to the early persecution of Christians.

What did Abrams say?

While speaking to supporters after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) was declared the victor of Georgia's gubernatorial election, Abrams said the moment reminded her of when the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church members about persecution.

"I am ... reminded of what Scripture tells us," Abrams said before reciting 2 Corinthians 4:8, "We are troubled on every side yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not in despair. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Cast dead on but not destroyed."

"I know the results aren't what we hoped for tonight, and I understand that you are hurting and you are disappointed— I am too," she continued. "We may not have made it to the finish line. But we ran that race. And we know this path and we know that running is what matters. That standing is what matters. That defending is what matters."

Stacey Abrams delivers concession speech in 2022 Georgia governor raceyoutu.be

In contrast to her 2018 post-election speech, in which she did not concede her loss, Abrams conceded that she is no longer a candidate for governor.

"Now, tonight I am doing what is clearly the responsible thing. I am suspending my campaign for governor," she said.

"I may no longer be seeking the office of governor, but I will never stop doing everything in my power to ensure that the people of Georgia have a voice," she vowed.

At the beginning of the speech, Abrams congratulated Kemp on his second consecutive victory.

Anything else?

Kemp defeated Abrams by approximately 7.5%, which translates to about 300,000 votes. By comparison, Kemp only defeated Abrams by 1.4% in 2018, or about 50,000 votes.

Still, Abrams has alleged that an election security law enacted last year disenfranchised voters. Those allegations came despite record-high voter turnout for a midterm election.

In fact, on Saturday, Abrams claimed that voters turned out despite "barriers" erected by Republicans.

"We know that people turned out early because they understand that [Republicans] put barriers in place," she said on MSNBC.

"Let's be clear, the false narrative that voter turnout has felled the idea of voter suppression misunderstands the effectiveness of suppression," she claimed. "It has never been about stopping all voters. It is about clogging the arteries of the process and stopping certain voters. There is a precision to voter suppression."

Abrams has never provided evidence backing her claims of voter disenfranchisement.