Failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said on Monday evening that it is still “entirely possible” that she could make a 2020 presidential run.
“I will enter this race if I think I can add value to it,” Abrams said at Recode’s Code Conference. “I don’t have enough information at this moment to make that decision.”
Abrams said she is not “disquieted by the number of people running” but added that she believed that “there are a handful of folks who are good people who should not be president.”
She said the nominating process will soon “winnow out who is actually viable,” pointing out that she will look to see if the remaining contenders not only have a plan to defeat President Donald Trump but also one to “win America”
Abrams has recently said that she will enter the presidential race if 2020 Democrats do not talk about voter suppression “every day.” When an audience member asked her which of the 2020 candidates she believes has offered the most “compelling platform on voting rights,” Abrams curiously refused to answer the question, just saying that she is pleased that the candidates she has met have “done the work.”
Abrams has said she believes she could still win the nomination even if she enters the contest in the fall after the first round of debates and last week indicated that she is still upset that former Vice President Joe Biden’s allies floated her as his possible running mate before Biden formally entered the race.
After those rumors, an Abrams ally accused Biden of wanting Abrams to “save his ass,” adding, “that’s some serious entitlement.” The rumors prompted Abrams to go on a national media tour to make clear that “you don’t run for second place.”
“I think it is deeply problematic that there would be a discussion of relegating any woman to the role of second when the primary has yet to fully take shape,” Abrams told the Guardian. “I think it’s a reflection again of this notion of what leadership looks like.”