Stacey Abrams repeats claim 2018 governor's race was 'stolen' when pressed by Sen. Ted Cruz

Failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Tuesday repeated her false claims that the 2018 race for governor in Georgia was "stolen" while testifying at a Senate hearing on voting rights.

Abrams was enlisted by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats as the star witness for their hearing, "Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote," which examined the new election reforms adopted by Georgia last month. Democrats, including Abrams and President Joe BIden, have accused Georgia Republicans of reintroducing "Jim Crow," claiming the Georgia law makes it harder for blacks and other minorities to vote — a charge Republicans vehemently deny.

At the hearing, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) grilled Abrams on whether she still believes the 2018 race for governor was stolen from her, noting that she never conceded the race to Gov. Brian Kemp (R).

"It's been over two years, and you still refuse to concede that you lost the race for governor in Georgia in 2018," Cruz said. "Yes or no, today, do you still maintain that the 2018 Georgia election was stolen?"

"As I have always said, I acknowledged at the very beginning that Brian Kemp won under the rules in place. What I object to are rules that permitted thousands of Georgia voters to be denied their participation in this election, to have their votes cast out. And so I will continue to disagree with the system until it is fixed," Abrams replied.

But Cruz pressed her to answer a "yes or no" question on whether she still maintains the 2018 election was stolen.

"My full language was that it was stolen from the voters of Georgia. We do not know what they would have done because not every eligible Georgian was able to participate fully in the election," she argued.

Following up, Cruz reminded Abrams that she previously told the New York Times that her loss "was fully attributable to voter suppression."

"Ms. Abrams, do you know in Georgia whether the percentage of African American Georgians who are registered to vote and who turned out to vote is it higher or lower than the national average?" he asked.

Abrams admitted "it is higher than the national average because Georgia's one of the largest states with an African American population."

Cruz noted that the percentage of black people registered to vote in Georgia in 2018 was 64.7%, higher than the national average of 60.2%. He said that the percentage of Georgians who voted in 2018 was 56.3%, higher than the national average of 48%.

"Let me ask you this, Ms. Abrams," Cruz continued. "In 2018, do you know which demographic group in Georgia had the highest registration percentage and the highest turnout percentage?"

"I have a guess but I will defer to you for the answer," Abrams responded.

"The answer is African Americans had the highest registration and the highest turnout despite your claiming that the election was stolen and that there was somehow voter suppression," Cruz informed her.