Rep. Seth Moulton Seth MoultonThe Hill's Morning Report - Presented by Facebook - Markey defeats Kennedy; Trump lauds America's enforcers in Wisconsin Moulton fends off primary challenges in Massachusetts Portland: The Pentagon should step up or pipe down MORE (D-Mass.) said Sunday that racism in America prevented Stacey Abrams from being elected governor of Georgia last year.

“If this country wasn’t racist, Stacey Abrams would be governor,” the White House hopeful said during a CNN town hall in Atlanta. “People of color are being systemically denied the most basic right in a democracy, which is the right to vote.”

Abrams, a black woman, lost the 2018 gubernatorial race to Brian Kemp, a white man, by a little more than 1 percentage point.

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The contest was rife with allegations of minority voter suppression by Kemp, who was secretary of state before running for governor.

Moulton's comment came in response to a question he received about how his administration would combat systemic racism.

The Massachusetts lawmaker called for the protection of voting rights and criminal justice reform.