Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her bid to become governor of Georgia last autumn, has a series of decisions to make.

Should she run for the Senate in 2020? Should she wait until 2022 to run again for governor? Or, audaciously, should she join the crowded field of candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination?

Losing campaigns are not the normal launching pad for a run for the White House. But these are not normal times, and Ms Abrams, who came within a percentage point and a half of becoming the first African-American female governor in US history, is in the unusual - some might say enviable - position of being encouraged to think about running for president.

Ms Abrams, who was the former minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, sat down last week with Steven Ginsberg, The Washington Post's national editor, and talked about the choices, the timetable and what kind of presidential campaign she would run.

If she decides to make the leap, the campaign would talk about race and identity, organising, voter engagement and voter suppression, among other things.

Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Show all 23 1 /23 Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Joe Biden The former vice president - poised to be a frontrunner - has announced his run. He recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Bernie Sanders The 2016 runner-up has announced that he will be running again in 2020 Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Hillary Clinton The 2016 Democratic presidential candidate and former Secretary of State says she is “still considering” whether she will run again. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Pete Buttigieg The Indiana mayor and war veteran will be running for president. If elected, he would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kamala Harris The former California attorney general will be running for president in 2020. Introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony, she has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts Senator has formally launched her bid for president in 2020. A progressive Democrat, she is a major supporter of regulating Wall Street. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Beto O’Rourke The former Texas congressman told Oprah Winfrey that he “has been thinking about running for presidency”, but stopped short of formally announcing his bid to run in 2020. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam has announced his bid. He intends to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. Vice News Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege.” Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has announced that he will be running for the presidency in 2020. If he secures the nomination he said finding a female vice president would be a priority. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but is likely to face tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Andrew Yang The entrepreneur has announced his presidential candidacy, and has pledged that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18. AFP/Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual advisor has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? John Kerry The former secretary of state has said he is still thinking about whether to run. Getty Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Michael Bloomberg The entrepreneur and former New York mayor– with a net worth of around $50bn – has said he will decide by the end of February whether to seek the presidency. AFP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Howard Schultz Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has not yet ruled out running for president in 2020, despite criticism that his bid could help re-elect Mr Trump by dividing the Democrat vote. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Holder The former attorney general has said he will decide in “the next month or so” whether to run as a 2020 presidential candidate. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Eric Swalwell The California congressman said he is “ready to do this” and will decide before April whether to run. MSNBC Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Terry McAuliffe The former Virginia governor, who worked to elect Democratic governors during 2018 midterms, said there was a “50 per cent” chance he would run. AP Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Sherrod Brown The Ohio senator is still undecided about whether to run for president in 2020. Who could be running against Trump in 2020? Mitch Landrieu The former New Orleans mayor said he doesn’t think he will run for president, but “never say never”. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

"I think that I am a skilled communicator," she said. "I think I'm a very good thinker. No, I know I'm a good thinker. I know I have policy chops. I have foreign policy experience. . . . I've done a great deal of work on a number of issues. But I need to make certain that I am the best person at this moment for that job and that's what I need to think about."

By her own description, Ms Abrams is not an impulsive politician. She is methodical in her thinking and her analysis. Running for president has been in the back of her mind for many years, though not a race in 2020.

Candidates for president do not always get to pick their moment and Ms Abrams' gubernatorial race has provided an unexpected opportunity to consider a White House bid. But time is pressing in on her.

Ms Abrams is one of three Democrats who gained national prominence, in Democratic circles at least, while losing statewide races in red or swing states. Another is Andrew Gillum, the former mayor of Tallahassee who lost his race for governor of Florida by less than half a percentage point.

The other is Beto O'Rourke, the former Texas congressman, whose losing campaign for the Senate turned him into a national celebrity in Democratic circles, and who this past week declared his candidacy for president with a Vanity Fair cover story complete with photos by Annie Leibovitz.

Ms Abrams has been pushed hard by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and many of his colleagues to challenge Georgia's incumbent Republican senator David Perdue, next year. If she is not going to do that, she knows she owes it to her party to make that known soon. She said she expects to decide about a Senate campaign by early April. If the answer to that is no, she will then turn immediately to the question of running for president.

If she enters the presidential race, her campaign would be an extension of how she ran in Georgia, with a focus on turning out voters who do not always show up, concentrating on communities of colour and raising pointed questions about the state of democracy under Donald Trump.

"To win in 2020, a Democrat has to talk relentlessly about voter suppression because when Republicans talk about vote fraud they are telling a lie, and they're repeating that lie so much that it sounds like the truth," she said.

"Voter suppression is real, and one of the ways it works is it has a psychological effect of convincing people that it's their responsibility that things are wrong. But when you talk about it from an activist perspective, it's an engagement tool. We turned out voters because they knew someone was trying to take something from them, and I want Americans to understand that someone is trying to take their democracy from them and they've got to fight to keep it."

Stacey Abrams: 'I'm supposed to say nice things and accept my fate'

Republicans bristle at claims that voter suppression cost Ms Abrams the governorship last autumn. They note that overall turnout was at a high level. Even Ms Abrams proudly talked about the overall increases as well as higher turnout among African-Americans and Latinos and her success in raising the Democrats share of the white vote.

She also talked about irregularities that occurred during the election. "The vote differential was 54,000 votes," she said. "I cannot prove empirically that I would have gotten every vote that could have been counted, but I do know that the absence of an effective system robbed me and Georgians of having a fair election where we could say with certainty that what happened was right."

Asked whether she could make a bigger statement on the issue about which she is passionate by running and winning another election in Georgia or going national, she said, "I think that is a legitimate frame but it's not the one I can use. These are jobs. I'm applying for a job, and I should run for office, because I want to do that job at that moment. The issue of voter suppression is an existential issue, and no matter what job I have, I'm going to talk about that issue."

Would a campaign on those issues spark a backlash, and a surge in turnout, among those who might feel excluded? Ms Abrams thinks not.

"For those who feel excluded by the articulation of another's identity, I would say that we all have parts of ourselves that are important," she said. "But when, in the American jurisprudence and in the American policymaking, we use those identities to harm you or to foreclose your opportunity, then it's in everyone's interest that we resolve that. It is not good for anyone."

US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Show all 20 1 /20 US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic candidate Ilhan Omar is celebrates with her husband's mother after she won a congress place, becoming the first Muslim woman to be elected into congress alongside Rashida Tlaib Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic House candidate, from Kansas, Sharice Davids (left) and her mom Crystal celebrate after she won. Davids is the first lesbian Native American Congresswoman by beating Republican incumbent Kevin Yoder. Davids is one of several first-time female candidates that helped the Democratic Party takeover in the House of Representatives EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Marsha Blackburn celebrates after winning the race for senate in Tennessee. In doing so she became that state’s first female senator AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won EPA US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Ayanna Pressley beaome Massachusetts’ first black congresswoman by defeating 10-term Republican Michael Capuano AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican candidate Young Kim has become the first Korean-American woman elected to Congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Jared Polis won his seat and became the US’s first ever openly gay governor AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post via AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Jean Kasselman (left) and Teresa Booker, supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids, react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Republican Kristi Noem hugs a supporter after being announced as the new governor of South Dakota. Noem made history by being the first female governor of the state AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Gabierla Martinez and Cesar Delgado cheer on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Polis REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest women ever elected to Congress, representing New York’s 14th congressional district AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democratic congressional candidate Rashida Tlaib celebrates with family and friends at her midterm election night party in Detroit after won and also became the nation’s first Muslim woman to congress alongside Ilhan Omar who was also elected Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic candidate for Kansas' 3rd Congressional District Sharice Davids react to election results Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Already having become the first Native American woman to chair a state political party, Deb Haaland has now become the joint-first Native American woman to be elected to congress, alongside Sharice Davids Reuters US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer during her election night party in the Queens Borough AFP/Getty US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Young Kim hugs her son Alvin after she won a seat in congress AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez cheer AFP/Getty Images US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Asma Mohammed and Ashley Fairbanks celebrate as results come in at Democratic congressional candidate Ilhan Omar's election night headquarters AP US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Democrat Deb Haaland hugs a voter REUTERS US midterm results: more diverse, more female and more progressive Supporters of Democratic House candidate from Kansas Sharice Davids cheer and cry after learning she won her race EPA

Ms Abrams already believes she could do a better job in the highest office in the country than Mr Trump. She could not cite anything the president has done on his own initiative that has been good for the country and she offered a blistering description of him.

"He is a racist, xenophobic, misogynistic, homophobe who has diminished our sense of cohesion as a nation. Regardless of where a president stood on issues, there has always been at least a veiled attempt at some sense of national unity. His intentionality to speak only to a narrow group that he calls his base, his willingness to only administer his office for that population, has diminished the credibility of his time in office."

Ms Abrams does not believe Democrats lost in 2016 because Mr Trump was a superior candidate with superior ideas.

"We lost because our organising method in 2016 did not engage voters who had long been out of the body politic," she said.

"I do not believe in turnout targets and one thing we demonstrated in our campaign, much to the suspicion and chagrin early on, is that you cannot run a campaign in the 21st century that believes in a base. Every voter is a persuasion target."

She knows she would make history if she ran and won but says she is not driven by that ambition. "I think history always informs who we are, but it should never decide what we do. When you run to be a marker, that's insufficient to carry you through the hardest times,' she said.

Ms Abrams insisted that she has not made up her mind, but it is fair to say that if she were to run, her campaign would be a striking contrast to that of many of the others in the race, particularly the white male candidates - Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Mr O'Rourke - who are currently attracting the most attention.