Stacey Abrams will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on February 5.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer personally asked Abrams to deliver the Democrat rebuttal after Trump speaks to the nation next week.
Abrams became the news media’s Democrat darling during her failed gubernatorial run against Republican rival Brian Kemp in the 2018 midterm elections.
“At a moment when our nation needs to hear from leaders who can unite for a common purpose,” said Abrams in a statement on Twitter.com Tuesday. “I am honored to be delivering the Democratic State of the Union response.”
President Trump accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to speak before a joint session of Congress in the Chamber of the House of Representatives after Trump temporarily ended the six week government shutdown on Friday.
Abrams has not decided whether she will challenge Kemp in a second gubernatorial run in 2022 or if she will challenge David Perdue (D-GA) for his Senate seat.
“One, I need to run for office because I’m the best person for the job, not simply because there’s a job that’s open,” Abrams told Atlanta radio station WABE. “Number 2, I need to run because I have ideas and the capacity to win the election and do the job well. And No. 3, I need to make decisions not based on animus or bitterness or sadness, but really based in a pragmatism that says, ‘This is the right thing to do.'”
Abrams said she will make her decision by the end of March.
The 45-year-old Wisconsin native was the first Black female gubernatorial nominee in the history of the United States.
Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images
