Keisha Lance Bottoms Makes History as First Black Woman Elected Governor in the US

In a landmark achievement, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms has been elected the first Black woman governor in the United States. The former Atlanta mayor secured a victory over her Republican opponent, billionaire Rick Jackson, who invested over $200 million of his personal funds in an effort to succeed outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp. Bottoms, who previously served as an adviser to former US President Joe Biden, saw her campaign bolstered by the substantial Black voting population in the state, which demonstrated significant turnout during early voting.

Throughout the campaign, Bottoms contended with Republican efforts to portray her tenure as mayor of Atlanta as a period of crime and decline. Addressing these criticisms, Bottoms stated to the Associated Press, “It’s a longstanding playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place.” This victory for Bottoms signifies the third consecutive occasion that Georgia Democrats have put forward a Black woman as their nominee for governor, following Stacey Abrams' previous candidacies in 2018 and 2022 against Kemp, who is concluding his eight-year term limit in January.