Brian Kemp’s campaign declares victory in Georgia’s governor race

ATLANTA—Republican Brian Kemp’s campaign declared victory Wednesday in the Georgia governor’s race, though Democrat Stacey Abrams insists that enough ballots remain to leave open the possibility of a runoff in a race that Kemp oversees as secretary of state.

The Associated Press has not called the contest.

Ryan Mahoney, a top Kemp campaign adviser, told reporters in a conference call that the numbers show Abrams can’t win and a runoff won’t happen—but stopped short of declaring victory until pressed by an Associated Press reporter. Only then did Mahoney say Kemp is certain of victory and preparing to take office in January.

“We are declaring victory,” Mahoney said. Another campaign official, Austin Chambers, added: “The message here is pretty simple: This election is over, and the results are clear.”

Kemp was not on the call. The move comes after a tense standoff that leaves open the possibility of litigation as Abrams’ campaign has spent the day pushing for the continued counting of absentee, mail-in and provisional ballots and renewing its concerns that Kemp remains the chief elections officer supervising his own election, a race already marked by disputes over the voting process.

With reported votes exceeding 3.9 million—almost 95 percent of Georgia’s 2016 presidential turnout—Kemp has just more than 50 percent.

“We are leaving all of our options on the table,” including litigation, Abrams’ campaign manager Lauren GrohWargo said. She estimated Wednesday that about 15,000 votes separate Kemp from a runoff. She says at least that many outstanding absentee and mail-in ballots remained to be counted.