WaPo fact-checker ADMITS Stacey Abrams 'repeatedly' denied 2018 election results — but adds one MAJOR caveat

The Washington Post's illustrious fact-checker Glenn Kessler debunked current Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams' recent claim that she "never denied" the results of the 2018 gubernatorial election in Georgia when she lost to Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

Kessler listed numerous instances of Abrams claiming that she "won" in 2018 and that the election was “stolen" or “rigged" and admitted that Abrams "refused to concede" to Kemp following the election. He even acknowledged that "a review of numerous interviews shows that Abrams subsequently used language denying the outcome of the election that she now appears to be trying to play down."

However, Kessler was also quick to dismiss comparisons between Abrams' version of election denial and that of former President Donald Trump.

"Abrams repeatedly questioned the integrity of Kemp’s victory ... but what might have appeared at the time as a savvy appeal to voters who felt disenfranchised looks different now that Trump and his GOP allies have taken election denialism to a dangerous new level," Kessler wrote.

"Moreover, unlike Trump, Abrams has not attempted to rile supporters to violence or call into question the outcome of the election before it takes place," he added.

Kessler noted Abrams' recent appearance on ABC's "The View," during which she claimed "I have never denied that I lost" after host Sunny Hostin actually praised her for not conceding the 2016 election.

"When you lost in 2018, you didn’t traditionally concede, which I appreciated because you cited voter suppression. Are you confident that this will be a free and fair ... election, and not a repeat performance of what happened before?" Hostin asked Abrams.

"I have never denied that I lost. I don’t live in the governor’s mansion. I would have noticed," Abrams responded.

"Now, Abrams is in a rematch with Kemp, fending off questions from reporters that she’s little different from former president Donald Trump, who has falsely claimed election fraud led to his defeat by Joe Biden. In recent weeks she has subtly adjusted [her] language to argue that, unlike Trump, she 'never denied the election' and 'never denied that I lost,'" Kessler wrote.

"Abrams played up claims the election was stolen until such tactics became untenable for anyone who claims to be an advocate for American democratic norms and values," Kessler admitted before launching into a detailed litany of Abrams' election-denial rhetoric.

Abrams recently made headlines for a different batch of bizarre claims about Georgia's six-week abortion ban.

“There is no such thing as a heartbeat at six weeks,” Abrams said at a student forum in Atlanta last week. "It is a manufactured sound designed to convince people that men have a right to take control of a woman’s body."

On "The News & Why It Matters," BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales and guests Stu Burguiere and Alex Stein discussed Abrams' extraordinary claims and how the Left has quickly jumped to defend them.

Watch the video clip below to catch the conversation or find full episodes of "The News & Why It Matters" here. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.

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