Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate, was nominated Monday for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian lawmaker.
Lars Haltbrekken, a member of Norway’s Socialist Party, compared Abrams to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and lauded her voting rights activism in the traditionally GOP dominated Georgia, according to Reuters. Abrams and her group, Fair Fight Action, are credited by Democrats for flipping the state blue in the last presidential and run-off elections.
“Abrams’ work follows in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s footsteps in the fight for equality before the law and for civil rights,” said Haltbrekken.
King Jr. won the Nobel prize in 1964 for leading the civil rights movement. (RELATED: Martha MacCallum Grills Georgia Secretary Of State On Whether He Approved Leaked Trump Call)
“Abrams’ efforts to complete King’s work are crucial if the United States of America shall succeed in its effort to create fraternity between all its peoples and a peaceful and just society,” he added.
Thousands are eligible to nominate candidates, including parliament members from across the globe, with the 2021 laureate set to be announced in October, Reuters reports.
This picture taken on December 10, 2010 shows the front of the Nobel medal awarded to the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for 2010, jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiabo. (Photo credit should read BERIT ROALD/AFP via Getty Images)
This year, candidates for the peace prize include imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Abrams launched her organization to fight against “voter suppression” after losing Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial race to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. She is believed to be a likely Democratic contender for the governorship election in 2022, according to The Hill.
The last U.S. peace prize recipient was former President Barack Obama in 2009.
