Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams invoked a Bible verse about being persecuted while delivering her concession speech.
After losing to Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Abrams read 2 Corinthians 4:8.
“We are troubled on every side, but not distressed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, cast down but not destroyed,” she said.
Abrams continued, “I know the results are not what we hoped for tonight, and I understand that you are hurting and you’re disappointed. I am too. 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.”
Watch the video below:
In her concession speech last night, Stacey Abrams quoted 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, comparing her election loss to the sufferings of St. Paul and the early church pic.twitter.com/t8jDxTMcPh
— Woke Preacher Clips (@WokePreacherTV) November 9, 2022
Additionally, Abrams vowed she would “never stop doing everything in my power to ensure that the people of Georgia have a voice.”
NBC News noted the race was a rematch after Abrams attempted to beat Kemp in 2018 but lost by roughly 55,000 votes.
At the time, she took aim at Kemp and accused him of voter suppression.
“I acknowledge that former of Secretary of State Brian Kemp will be certified the victor in the 2018 gubernatorial election,” Abrams said.
She explained, “But to watch an elected official, who claims to represent the people in the state, baldly pin his hopes for election on the suppression of the people’s democratic right to vote has been truly appalling.”
Abrams suggested it was not a “speech of concession because concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper. As a woman of conscience and faith, I cannot concede that.”
Prior to the 2022 election, Abrams and Kemp went head-to-head in two debates.
Kemp will kick off his second term in January but will not be eligible for a third under state law.