Fight goes on in race for Georgia’s governor

Democrats plan suit as Republican quits secretary of state post

ATLANTA — Republican Brian Kemp resigned Thursday as Georgia’s secretary of state, a day after his campaign said he had captured enough votes to become governor. His Democratic rival, Stacey Abrams, refused to concede and her campaign demanded that state officials “count every single vote.”

As the state’s top election official, Kemp oversaw the race, a marquee contest in the nation’s midterms. His resignation Thursday morning came as a hearing began for a lawsuit in which five voters asked that he be barred from exercising his duties in any future management of his own election tally.

Abrams’ campaign had repeatedly accused Kemp of improperly using his post as secretary of state and had been calling for him to step down for months, saying his continuation in the job was a conflict of interest. Kemp made clear that he wasn’t stepping down in response to that criticism, but to start on his transition to the governor’s office.

His resignation took effect just before noon Thursday. He said an interim secretary of state had been appointed to oversee the rest of the vote count.

The Associated Press has not called the election.

Shortly after Kemp’s announcement, Abrams’ campaign and its legal team held a news conference to announce that they would not give up the fight to have all ballots counted. They insisted enough votes remained uncounted to affect the outcome of the election.

The lawyers said they planned to file a lawsuit Thursday against officials in Dougherty County, where they said absentee ballots were delayed because of Hurricane Michael, which devastated parts of south Georgia.

They also said they ask the court to ensure those votes are counted, and to require that elections officials preserve all potential evidence about the vote count.

“How can anybody claim a victory when there are enough votes that have not been counted that could cause a runoff here?” Attorney John Chandler asked.