Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Stacey Abrams
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Stacey Abrams made an impact.
Stacey Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, voting rights activist, and author prominent in Georgia politics. She served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017, becoming minority leader in 2011. In 2018, she founded Fair Fight Action, an organization dedicated to combating voter suppression. Abrams is widely recognized for her work to increase voter turnout, particularly in Georgia, and her efforts are credited with contributing to Democratic victories in the 2020 presidential election and the 2020-21 Senate elections, which ultimately gave the Democratic Party control of the Senate.
2002: Deputy City Attorney
In 2002, at age 29, Stacey Abrams was appointed a deputy city attorney for the City of Atlanta.
2006: Elected to Georgia House
In 2006, Stacey Abrams ran for the 84th District for the Georgia House of Representatives and won the Democratic primary election with 51% of the vote.
2007: Representative for House District 84
In 2007, Stacey Abrams began representing House District 84 in the Georgia House of Representatives.
2007: Georgia House of Representatives
In 2007, Stacey Abrams was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives, where she served until 2017.
2009: Most Recent Selena Montgomery Book
In 2009, Abrams published her most recent book under the pen name Selena Montgomery.
November 2010: Elected Minority Leader
In November 2010, the Democratic caucus elected Stacey Abrams to succeed DuBose Porter as minority leader.
2010: Co-founded Nourish, Inc.
In 2010, Stacey Abrams co-founded Nourish, Inc., originally conceived as a beverage company for infants and toddlers.
2011: Minority Leader
In 2011, Stacey Abrams became the minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, a position she held until 2017.
2011: HOPE Scholarship Reform
In 2011, Stacey Abrams cooperated with Republican governor Nathan Deal's administration to reform the HOPE Scholarship program, co-sponsoring legislation to preserve the program.
2011: Stopped Tax Increase
In 2011, Stacey Abrams stopped the largest tax increase in Georgia history, arguing that a Republican proposal would increase taxes for most people.
2013: Representative for House District 89
In 2013, following reapportionment, Stacey Abrams began representing District 89 in the Georgia House.
August 25, 2017: Resigned from General Assembly
On August 25, 2017, Stacey Abrams resigned from the General Assembly to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.
2017: Resigned from General Assembly
In 2017, Stacey Abrams resigned from the Georgia General Assembly to focus on her gubernatorial campaign.
April 2018: Publication of "Minority Leader"
In April 2018, Abrams's book, "Minority Leader: How to Lead from the Outside and Make Real Change", was published.
November 6, 2018: Lost Election for Governor
On November 6, 2018, Stacey Abrams lost the election for governor of Georgia by 54,723 votes.
November 16, 2018: Ended Campaign and Created Fair Fight Action
On November 16, 2018, Stacey Abrams ended her campaign, not conceding but acknowledging the impossibility of a runoff, and announced the creation of Fair Fight Action.
2018: Featured in "All In: The Fight For Democracy"
In 2018, Abrams was featured in "All In: The Fight For Democracy", a documentary about voter suppression.
2018: Gubernatorial Nominee
In 2018, Stacey Abrams became the Democratic nominee in the Georgia gubernatorial election, marking her as the first African-American female major-party gubernatorial nominee in the United States; she narrowly lost the election to Brian Kemp.
2018: Founded Fair Fight Action
In 2018, Stacey Abrams founded Fair Fight Action, an organization focused on addressing voter suppression.
2018: Won Democratic Nomination
In 2018, Stacey Abrams won the Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia, becoming the first Black woman in the U.S. to be a major party's nominee for governor.
January 29, 2019: Schumer Announces Abrams to Respond to State of the Union
On January 29, 2019, Chuck Schumer announced that Abrams would deliver the response to the State of the Union address.
February 2019: State of the Union Response
In February 2019, Stacey Abrams became the first African-American woman to deliver a response to the State of the Union address.
April 30, 2019: Abrams Declines to Run for U.S. Senate
On April 30, 2019, Abrams announced that she would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2020, despite recruitment efforts, citing a need to focus on ending voter suppression.
August 17, 2019: Founding of Fair Fight 2020
On August 17, 2019, Abrams announced the founding of Fair Fight 2020, an organization to assist Democrats in building voter protection teams.
2019: Vote for Speaker of the U.S. House
In 2019, Abrams received a single vote, from Kathleen Rice, in the election for Speaker of the U.S. House.
2019: Spoke at CFR's Conference on Diversity in International Affairs
In 2019, Abrams spoke at CFR's Conference on Diversity in International Affairs.
June 2020: Publication of "Our Time Is Now"
In June 2020, Abrams's book, "Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America", was published.
August 11, 2020: Harris Announced as Biden's Running Mate
On August 11, 2020, Kamala Harris was officially announced as Joe Biden's running mate.
2020: Boost in Democratic Votes in Georgia
After Biden won the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Abrams was credited with a large boost in Democratic votes in Georgia and an estimated 800,000 new voter registrations.
2020: Declines to Run for Senate
In 2020, Abrams declined to run for the U.S. Senate, citing a need to focus on ending voter suppression.
2020: Fair Fight 2020
In 2020, Abrams founded Fair Fight 2020, an organization to assist Democrats in building voter protection teams.
2020: Boosted Voter Turnout
In 2020, Stacey Abrams's efforts were credited with boosting voter turnout in Georgia, contributing to Joe Biden's narrow win in the state and Democratic control of the Senate.
May 11, 2021: "While Justice Sleeps" Released
On May 11, 2021, Stacey Abrams released "While Justice Sleeps" under her real name.
May 2021: Publication of "While Justice Sleeps"
In May 2021, "While Justice Sleeps" was published under her own name, and an adaptation of the novel into a television series began development.
December 1, 2021: Abrams Announces Run for Governor
On December 1, 2021, Abrams announced she would run again for governor of Georgia.
December 2021: "Stacey's Extraordinary Words" Published
In December 2021, Stacey Abrams published a children's book titled "Stacey's Extraordinary Words".
2021: Nomination for Nobel Peace Prize
In 2021, Abrams was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent campaign to get out the vote.
May 24, 2022: Abrams Runs Unopposed in Democratic Primary
On May 24, 2022, Abrams ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for Georgia governor.
November 8, 2022: Abrams Loses Election to Kemp
On November 8, 2022, Abrams lost the election to Brian Kemp for governor of Georgia and conceded that night.
2022: Second Gubernatorial Run
In 2022, Stacey Abrams ran for governor of Georgia for a second time as the Democratic nominee, but lost to Brian Kemp by a larger margin than in 2018.
March 2023: Hired as Senior Counsel
In March 2023, Stacey Abrams was hired as senior counsel by Rewiring America, a community electrification advocacy nonprofit group.
April 5, 2023: Appointed to Howard University Chair
On April 5, 2023, Howard University announced the appointment of Abrams to the inaugural Ronald W. Walters Endowed Chair for Race and Black Politics.
