Georgia GOP calls denied ad buy from Abrams campaign illegal

ATLANTA — The Georgia Republican party is accusing Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia of breaking campaign finance laws by requesting ad time on WSB-TV for a runoff election which has not yet been called.

The Abrams campaign requested the ad time on Friday, but were denied because WSB-TV is not accepting any political ads until the vote is certified by the state and runoffs are official.

[READ: Kemp vs. Abrams: Georgia governor's race by the numbers]

The Georgia GOP issued a news release Friday night, saying:

"Today, WSB-TV put the facts ahead of profit and rejected the new television ad run by the Democratic Party of Georgia on behalf of Stacey Abrams.

"The Democratic Party of Georgia broke campaign finance laws by attempting to buy a $250,000 TV advertisement approved by Stacey Abrams with campaign funds for a non-existent gubernatorial run-off. At the same time, Stacey Abrams' campaign is illegally spending funds to send absentee ballot request forms for an election which does not, and will not, exist. Funds used for runoffs are legally regulated and must be used for a sanctioned (and existent) election.

[READ MORE: Kemp declares victory, but Abrams says not so fast]

"Chairman John Watson issued this response to the Democrats' illegal actions:

"Stacey Abrams' ambitions of getting a TV talk show or running for office again as an aggrieved member of our victim culture are leading her to make reckless and illegal decisions. Her actions are harmful to Georgians who want to come together and work for the future. She is putting herself above the will of Georgians and is damaging to our state.

"WSB-TV made the right decision to honor the law and the facts of this election and reject the Abrams run-off ad. There is no run-off election for Governor, and after every vote is counted, there will not be one. Abrams should concede immediately."

[READ MORE: Abrams' campaign sets up phone banks for voters to check on provisional ballots]

In response, the Abrams campaign sent a statement, saying:

"The Abrams for Governor campaign has promised the people of Georgia that we will fight to ensure that every vote is counted, and we will uphold that promise. We believe that this race will head into a runoff and we are ready to engage with voters about Abram’s bold vision for our state the moment a runoff is declared. Brian Kemp may have tried to coronate himself after overseeing his own election, but Georgia voters are going to insist that their voices be heard."  

Again, we want to be clear that WSB-TV is not accepting any ads for any political campaign until the certification process is complete.

Cox Media Group