Pulling a page from Hillary Clinton’s playbook, former Rep. Robert ‘Beto’ O’Rourke suggested that failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams lost in a rigged election.
O’Rourke called Abrams a “a real hero” to him during a Tuesday appearance on “The View,” and said the secretary of state may have rigged the race against her.
"The grace with which she met that defeat on an unfair, unlevel playing field with the secretary of state perhaps rigging, in part, that election...is inspiring stuff at a time that our democracy is so badly broken," he said.
Democrat presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke praises Stacey Abrams, calls her a "real hero" for refusing to accept the results of Georgia's governor race where she lost by 54,000+ votes
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) May 14, 2019
O'Rourke claims without evidence that the race was rigged against her despite record turnout pic.twitter.com/2DP6NWhXKs
Abrams lost the gubernatorial race against Republican Brian Kemp, then secretary of state, although she refused to concede. Kemp was accused of voter suppression but has brushed off investigations into the matter as politically motivated.
In addition to refusing to concede, which she has said would mean the results were “right and true and proper,” she bizarrely claimed recently that she won. In reality, Abrams lost by roughly 54,000 votes.
Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), also a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, has similarly claimed Abrams and Florida Democrat Andrew Gillum would’ve won if not for voter suppression.
“Let’s say this loud and clear: Without voter suppression, Stacey Abrams would be the governor of Georgia; Andrew Gillum is the governor of Florida," she said earlier this month.