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LIVE UPDATES: Kemp's campaign declares victory; Abrams readies legal team

ATLANTA — It's been several days since the election, but there are still many races in Georgia yet to be decided. It's possible we may not get some results until next week.

[Click here for real-time election results]

The top race without a confirmed winner is the match-up between Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams. The gubernatorial candidates are separated by a small margin, but Wednesday afternoon Kemp's campaign declared victory. Abrams' campaign confirmed the Democratic candidate will not concede Wednesday night.

Less than 63,000 votes currently separate the two candidates.

[RELATED: Kemp campaign: 'The election is over']

We're in touch with election officials to get the final vote counts. Watch Channel 2 Action News at Noon for the latest election results and a breakdown of what happens next.

Minute-by-minute updates:
1:36 p.m.
The state has released the number of provisional ballots as 21,358. Most are in the Atlanta area. 
10 a.m.

Brian Kemp and Gov. Nathan Deal held a news conference Thursday morning to discuss the transition process. Kemp said he will step down as secretary of state effective 11:59 a.m.

Stacey Abrams campaign said they will hold their own news conference at Noon.

[RELATED: Kemp announces transition team, steps down as secretary of state]

Gov. Nathan Deal, Brian Kemp hold news conference

Governor Nathan Deal and Brian Kemp are holding a news conference to "discuss the administration transition process." (LATEST: 2wsb.tv/2Dcr3Uf)

Posted by WSB-TV on Thursday, November 8, 2018
9:30 p.m.

Abrams readies legal team to investigate election outcome.

7:07 p.m.

Channel 2's Justin Wilfon confirms Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will not be conceding Wednesday night after Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp's campaign declares victory.

5:20 p.m.

Cody Hall, the press secretary for the Kemp campaign, released the following statement Wednesday evening:

"Brian Kemp earned nearly two million votes on Tuesday - by far the most of any gubernatorial candidate in our state's history.

Absentee ballots are counted and Kemp leads his opponent by 64,000 votes. Based on counts released by the Secretary of State's office, Brian Kemp's margin is so large that the number of provisional ballots and overseas ballots will not change his Election Day victory. Simply put, it is mathematically impossible for Stacey Abrams to win or force a run-off election.

Peach State voters made a clear decision at the ballot box. Brian Kemp will now begin his transition as governor-elect of Georgia. He will work every day to keep our state moving in the right direction."

4:40 p.m.

Brian Kemp's campaign has declared him the winner of the Georgia governor's race. We are now waiting on a response from the Abrams campaign.

3:45 p.m.

The Abrams campaign announces the launch of an "aggressive provisional ballot chase program to ensure that every eligible voter’s voice is heard and every ballot is counted."

2:55 p.m.

Republican Rep. Karen Handel says she is not conceding the 6th Congressional District race to Democrat Lucy McBath. McBath declared victory earlier Wednesday.

"Given the close results of our race, and the fact that the official results at this time are within the 1% threshold where a recount is possible, we believe it is prudent to review and assess all data before making additional actions or statements," Handel said in a statement.

The race has not been officially called yet.

1:45 p.m. 

Wednesday afternoon, Democrat Lucy McBath declared victory in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District race, despite the fact that the race has not officially been called.

McBath released the following statement.

Republican Karen Handel has not yet responded to McBath's statement.

According to the unofficial results, McBath has 159,268 votes and Handel has 156,396 with 100 percent of the precincts reporting.

1:30 p.m.

Stacey Abrams' campaign issued a statement with an update on the election results:

"We remain committed to ensuring that every single vote is counted, particularly given the significant irregularities in various areas of the state. In Fulton County alone, lines stretched for hours despite a warehouse with 700 voting machines that stood ready to be deployed but never were. Given the effort that Georgia voters made to make sure their voices could be heard, we owe it to them to fight on to make sure that every vote is counted. (As a reminder, the election results won't be certified by counties until Monday or Tuesday of next week.)"

12:47 p.m.

In a press conference, President Trump said that Brian Kemp won the race for Georgia governor "by a very big margin" despite the fact that the race hasn't been called yet and remains close.

"I won Georgia. President Obama campaigned very hard in Georgia. Oprah Winfrey was all over the television," Trump said. "I went to Georgia and we had one of the largest crowds anyone has ever seen at a political event."

When asked about issues with long lines and broken voting machines, the president said he heard voting "was very efficient in Georgia" and said he loves the state.

12:10 p.m.:

During a press conference, President Trump mentioned Oprah's help for Stacey Abrams' campaign. He said she worked very hard.

11:50 a.m.:

Channel 2's Richard Elliot has spoken to the Brian Kemp's campaign and his officials say they believe the math is still in their favor and has won outright.

11:08 a.m.:

The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Tyler Estep tweeted that the Gwinnett legislative delegation went from 15 Republicans and 10 Democrats to 17 Democrats and 8 Republicans on Tuesday.

10:30 a.m.:

Channel 2's Richard Elliot was on a press phone call with Stacey Abrams' election team where they spoke about the election. They are hoping for a runoff.

9:20 a.m.:

The latest results show that Brian Kemp has 50.4% and Stacey Abrams has 48.66%. In Georgia you need 50% plus 1 to win and avoid a runoff.

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