Democrat who ran for Georgia gov. enters state House race

ATLANTA (AP) – Former Democratic candidate for Georgia governor Stacey Evans has announced a bid to return to the state House.

Evans said Thursday that she’ll run for the Atlanta-based seat held by retiring state Rep. Pat Gardner.

Evans represented a Smyrna-based seat for years before stepping down in 2017 to run for governor. Evans lost the Democratic primary to Stacey Abrams last year.

Evans said in a statement that she’s motivated to run again by Republican attacks on women’s rights, a reference to the abortion ban passed by the Georgia legislature this year.

Evans was first elected to the state House in 2010.