Georgia: Gov-Elect Brian Kemp

Eleven days after the general election, Georgia election authorities certified that Republican Brian Kemp secured a majority vote, at 50.3%, which elects him Governor of Georgia.  Mr. Kemp defeats former state House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams (D) who is acknowledging the result, but says she is not conceding because of what she charges as voter suppression maneuvers coming from the Secretary of State’s office, of which Mr. Kemp was the elected principal until he resigned shortly after the election. 
 
There was no doubt the final count would find Mr. Kemp in first place, but the question was whether he would secure majority support.  Under Georgia law, if a candidate does not obtain a majority, a post-election run-off must be held.  Therefore, the idea of the vote challenges was not in the guise of believing that enough votes existed to place Ms. Abrams ahead of Mr. Kemp, but rather that he would be pushed below 50%. 
 
In the end, Kemp finished with 17,000 votes beyond a simple majority.  Though the race was one of the closest gubernatorial elections in Georgia history, the victor still garnered more votes for the office than anyone previously elected.