Stacey Abrams Will Not Run for U.S. Senate in 2020; Millions Sigh, 'But What About President, Though?'

We still don’t know exactly what Stacey Abrams has in mind for future office, but we can at least rule one possibility out: a U.S. Senate seat in 2020.

Early Tuesday morning, the Georgia Democrat announced she will not run to be a Georgia representative, despite “a fierce lobbying effort by party leaders,” the Washington Post reports. In a video posted to her Twitter account, Abrams said she was grateful for all the encouragement she received to run for the U.S. Senate.

“I’m committed to doing everything I can to help elect a Democrat to that seat next year,” she added.

According to CNN, Abrams met with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Monday to confirm she would not be running—news that surely disappointed the top Senate Democrat. Abrams was widely regarded as the best chance the party had to secure a seat in a state that has consistently gone to Republicans for years.

The former Georgia state House minority leader garnered national attention last year in her bid to become the state’s governor—had she been successful, she would have been the first black woman to serve as governor in the country’s history. But Georgia’s hotly contested governor’s race was marred with allegations of voter suppression, engineered by Abrams’ opponent and then-secretary of state Brian Kemp. In her video, Abrams swore to continue her fight against voter suppression, which has become one of her signature issues since her narrow defeat last year.

Abrams never conceded the election, instead acknowledging in November last year that there was no path forward for her to win. She has maintained—as have many others—that the election was stolen.

Of course, many hope Abrams sets her sight on an even higher office—the U.S. presidency. And she technically didn’t rule it out, saying nothing about what her future plans for political office might be. However, if we’re trying to divine the tea leaves here (which, sure, why not), CNN reports that Abrams did say running for president was “probably third on the list” of potential future bids for office, behind a U.S. Senate seat or running for Georgia governor again in 2022.