Stacey Abrams Throws Cold Water On Rumors That She Will Be Joe Biden’s Running Mate In 2020

Stacey Abrams may be a rising star in the Democratic Party, but the Georgia gubernatorial candidate has no plans to make an attempt at the White House just yet.

There had been growing rumors that former Vice President Joe Biden would soon be entering the 2020 race and had plans to tap Abrams as his vice presidential candidate. Political experts said Abrams would be a way to help Biden shore up support among younger and African-American voters, though Biden himself never addressed whether he would want to run alongside Abrams. And a report from Yahoo News claimed that no one had run the plans by Abrams, either.

It likely won’t matter. Abrams said this week that she has no intention of being a No. 2 in the 2020 race. Appearing on The View, she said would only be taking part in a primary if she was trying to win the race herself.

“You don’t run for second place,” Abrams said. “If I’m going to enter a primary, then I’m going to enter a primary. If I don’t enter a primary, my job is to make certain the best Democrat becomes the nominee and, whoever wins the primary, that we make certain that person gets elected in 2020.”

A longtime voter rights advocate, Abrams came close to turning Georgia blue in the 2018 midterm elections, but lost a close race that was marred by allegations of voter suppression. Eventual winner Brian Kemp, then serving as Georgia’s secretary of state, was accused of massive purges of the voter rolls that opponents said were heavily slanted against black voters.

Despite losing, Abrams emerged from the race as a figure with national attention and plenty of push behind her cause to expand voting rights. Abrams spoke frequently about the need to make it easier to vote and to fight back against practices that limit voter rights, especially what many see as Republican attempts to suppress minority voting by limiting early voting, instituting targeted voter ID laws, and conducting controversial purges of the voter rolls.

Rep. John Lewis says Democrat Stacey Abrams, a former candidate for governor of Georgia, "would be a great senator" https://t.co/GGZzFhD2G0 pic.twitter.com/RFFlO42hqC

— CNN (@CNN) March 28, 2019

Stacey Abrams has not expressed an interest in entering the crowded 2020 Democratic primary field, but many political experts believe she could be groomed for Georgia’s 2020 Senate race. As Politico reported earlier this year, Democrats were engaged in a “full-court press” to draft Abrams to run in a race that could have wider implications. Abrams has become very popular among Georgia Democrats, and her presence on the ticket could increase turnout and help make the state competitive in the 2020 presidential election.