Stacey Abrams, who ran as a Democratic candidate for Georgia governor in 2018, will give the Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union speech next week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced.
"Three weeks ago, I called Stacey Abrams and asked her to deliver the response, I was very delighted when she agreed," Schumer said to reporters on Tuesday.
Abrams has previously served as the Democratic leader of the Georgia state General Assembly. She unsuccessfully ran against Brian Kemp (R) for governor in what turned out to be a hotly contested election.
Trump's State of the Union is scheduled for Feb. 5. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) invited President Donald Trump to deliver the annual address on Monday after originally revoking the invitation during the government shutdown.
Abrams's invitation to deliver the response was first reported by MSNBC. Host Chris Hayes tweeted, "A reliable source tells me that Chuck Schumer called STACEY ABRAMS three weeks ago to ask her to deliver the Democratic response to the State of the Union."
Abrams lost the election to Kemp with 48.8 percent of the vote. Kemp was Georgia's acting secretary of state when he ran for governor.
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