“Married to Medicine”'s Dr. Heavenly Concedes After Losing Georgia Primary: 'We Built a Real Movement'

"We showed that everyday people still have a voice," she told her supporters

NEED TO KNOW

• Dr. Heavenly Kimes has conceded after losing the primary election in Georgia, on Tuesday, May 19
• The Married to Medicine star was running in the Democratic primary to represent the state’s 13th District in the U.S. House of Representatives
• She congratulated Rep. Jasmine Clark, who won the primary, and told her supporters, “We made history”

Married to Medicine star Dr. Heavenly Kimes has conceded after losing her primary election in Georgia, on Tuesday, May 19, telling her supporters that they "made history" together.

Kimes, a cosmetic dentist based in Atlanta, was running in the Democratic primary for the U.S. House of Representatives in a bid to represent Georgia's 13th Congressional District. She came second to Rep. Jasmine Clark out of a pool of six candidates.

Clark, who has represented Georgia House District 108 since 2019, won the District 13 primary with more than half of the vote, according to NBC News. She will face Republican candidate Jonathan James Chavez, who won his party's primary in an uncontested race, on Tuesday, November 3.

"This is not over — we're going to come back. I've already called Jasmine Clark and congratulated the queen," Kimes said in an Instagram video. "I'm sure she'll do an amazing job. I'm so proud of her, but I'm also proud of you. We did something different; we made history."

She wrote alongside the video, "No matter what, I am so proud of what we built together. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everybody that believed in me, prayed for me, donated, volunteered, canvassed, texted, called voters, put up signs, and stood beside me through this journey."

She continued, "We came in second place. We beat elected officials. We built a real movement. And most importantly, we showed that everyday people still have a voice."

She thanked her husband, Dr. Damon Kimes, who stood beside her in the video, for "every sacrifice, every late night, every prayer, every conversation and all the time he poured into helping me through this process," and thanked her children for "sacrificing time with me while we fought for something bigger than ourselves."

Kimes' Married to Medicine costar Dr. Jackie Walters left a comment calling her a "rockstar," and added, "This is only the beginning for you."

District 13 is currently vacant after Rep. David Scott, who had represented the district since 2003, died on April 22, aged 80. At the time, Kimes paid tribute to Scott — who had been leading recent polls before his death — calling him a "dedicated advocate for his community, working to uplift families, support economic growth and champion issues that mattered to the people he served."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kimes originally said she was going to run for Georgia state representative in District 93, sharing the news exclusively with PEOPLE last summer, before announcing in March that she would run for federal office instead.

"I'm not a career politician. I'm a mom, a doctor, a business owner — and I'm not afraid to stand up for what I believe in," she said in a statement at the time. "I'm running to serve, and I'm ready to work."

Read the full article here