More than two weeks after election day, Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux is conceding to Republican incumbent Rob Woodall in Georgia's 7th District.
The concession comes after election workers completed a recount Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.
The Secretary of State's Office showed Woodall having 140,430 votes, giving him 50.07 percent of the vote. Bourdeaux stood at 140,011 votes with 49.93 percent. The difference between the two candidates was only 419 votes.
In a statement from her campaign, Bourdeaux said she was grateful to everyone who supported her bid for the Congressional seat.
"While we didn’t get the outcome we had hoped for in this election, we achieved an incredible amount,” she said. “This campaign was about more than me; it was about building community and working for change. We moved the needle in this district more than anyone thought possible."
She finished by congratulating Woodall on his re-election, wishing him "all the best" in his work on behalf of the 7th District.
Bourdeaux, an associate professor at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, entered the 7th district race last July and fought through a six-way primary and primary runoff to earn the Democratic nomination, coming close to flipping the previously safe Republican district.
Bourdeaux expressed that she had been concerned about the transparency and fairness of recount process, especially for the absentee and provisional paper ballots that were cast in the election.
"This is one of the closest races in the state," she said. " This is the closest Congressional race in a long, long time."
Bourdeaux claimed some of the ballots that were turned in were folded in half and the crease runs through her name.
"Many election experts have told us this will cause errors in the recount," she said.
Bourdeaux said they also filed an open records request to be able to see the ballots that were transcribed and the absentee ballots that had the fold and might have had a problem. That was filed on Friday of last week.
Tuesday morning, Boudeaux said Gwinnett still hadn't responded to the request.
Despite the loss, Bourdeaux said she still plans to continue to press for change in Georgia’s election system.
"I look forward to continuing to look for ways to solve our common problems – to reform our democracy and voting systems to ensure that they are fair and transparent, to ensure that everyone has affordable quality health care and world-class education, and that we bring the jobs of the future to our community," Bourdeaux's statement concluded. "This is not the end of the fight; it’s just the end of the beginning.”