Stacey Abrams said she never denied losing Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial race but instead sought to redefine what counts as victory, telling MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace that progress and cultural gains matter alongside electoral outcomes.
Abrams, a two-time Democratic nominee for governor who has been mentioned as a possible future candidate, made the remarks on Wallace’s podcast, The Best People. She said she was not "confused" about the 2018 result and that she had conversations with communities in which she emphasized that not clinching the office did not erase the advances made during the campaign.
"In 2018, when I lost my election, I was never confused about it," Abrams said. "I had conversations with communities, and I would say, 'We won,' and that just would send people into these, you know, paroxysms of hatred. What I was telling them is: 'Look, not getting the title did not mean that we didn’t make progress.'"
Abrams reiterated a long-standing theme of her public work: that efforts to expand and protect voting access, civic engagement and other democratic practices constitute meaningful victories even when they do not produce immediate officeholders from a campaign. "When you are trying to defend democracy, when you’re trying to serve the people, progress counts as victory," she said. "Because their goal is your silence. Their goal is your complicity. Their goal is your subjugation. Every day we remain free, that is progress."
She also addressed her response to the election itself. Abrams refused to formally concede to Republican Brian Kemp after the 2018 vote and accused him, then Georgia’s secretary of state, of enacting policies that suppressed voters. In the podcast, she said she did not "challenge" the election and acknowledged Kemp as the legitimate governor "under the rules that were in place."
Wallace, who praised Abrams during the interview, asked what the former candidate meant when she warned against treating political victory as a "cinematic moment." Abrams said Democrats risk continued losses if they define victory solely by who holds office at any given moment. "But if we have to wait for this large announcement, like elections, to say that 'This is when we win,' we’re going to keep losing," she said. "I say 'Let’s look for the small interstitial victories we can grasp—those small moments of progress we can make—because that adds up to the actual victory we’re trying to get to.'"
Abrams’s approach has drawn both praise and criticism. Supporters say her emphasis on long-term civic engagement helps build durable political coalitions and strengthens democratic participation. Critics have faulted her for not formally conceding in 2018 and for rhetoric that they say undermined confidence in the electoral process.
Since the 2018 race, Abrams has continued to campaign on voting rights and democratic resilience, repeatedly warning of threats to democratic norms and speaking about the need for sustained political and cultural mobilization. She remains a prominent figure in national Democratic politics and is widely discussed as a potential candidate in future statewide or national contests.
Abrams’s comments reflect a broader debate within the Democratic Party about strategy and messaging: whether to concentrate resources primarily on winning offices or to also prioritize cultural and institutional changes that could alter the political landscape over time. She framed her view as practical rather than rhetorical, urging activists and voters to recognize incremental gains as part of a larger push for lasting change.
Her remarks come as Democrats assess recent electoral cycles and consider how best to organize ahead of future races, balancing short-term electoral objectives with longer-term efforts to expand participation and influence public policy.