Stacey Abrams Concedes to Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia

ATLANTA — Stacey Abrams has conceded to Brian Kemp, the Republican governor of Georgia, Mr. Kemp’s campaign said late Tuesday, ending a bitter, high-profile rematch of their 2018 contest.

The Associated Press has not yet called the race.

Mr. Kemp, who led the state while his party controlled both chambers of Georgia’s General Assembly, campaigned on the conservative policy wins of his last four years, including forgoing public health guidance to keep Georgia businesses open during the Covid-19 pandemic and passing legislation that would allow state residents to purchase a firearm without a permit. He also highlighted his suspension of the state’s gas tax and proposed using a budget surplus of more than $6 billion to fund further tax breaks for residents.

Residual effects of the 2020 presidential election loomed over the race from the start.

Former President Donald J. Trump recruited David Perdue, the former Republican senator, to challenge Mr. Kemp in the primary as retribution for Mr. Kemp’s certifying of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s crucial win in the state. But Mr. Kemp defeated Mr. Perdue by more than 50 points, and Georgia conservatives quickly coalesced around his general election campaign.

Mr. Kemp frequently stumped alongside several national party figures who have kept the former president at arm’s length — or alienated themselves from him altogether. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia visited Georgia on Mr. Kemp’s behalf, as did Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona and former Vice President Mike Pence.

But Mr. Kemp kept his distance from other Georgia Republicans, namely Herschel Walker, the Senate nominee who faced a slew of negative stories about his professional and personal life, and the lieutenant governor candidate Burt Jones, who had joined a slate of fake electors for Mr. Trump after the 2020 election.

Ms. Abrams, his Democratic challenger, sought to turn the race into a referendum on Mr. Kemp’s last four years, saying that Mr. Kemp’s leadership had hurt low-income Georgians and people of color in the state. And after the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Ms. Abrams’s campaign zeroed in on her rival’s support for a bill — now law — that outlaws abortions in Georgia after six weeks of pregnancy.

But her struggles with key constituencies — particularly swing voters in conservative-leaning suburban communities — were a drag on her campaign. Her consistent outreach to Black men, a voting bloc she said would be core to her winning Georgia, was often criticized as pandering.

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