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Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia race, becomes first Black woman elected governor of US state
Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor’s race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state and the state’s first female governor. Her victory gives Democrats a major win in a closely contested battleground where Black voters have helped build the party’s coalition.
The 56-year-old former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, according to US media projections, and will succeed Republican Brian Kemp, who is leaving after two terms. Bottoms previously served as a senior adviser to Joe Biden; Jackson campaigned on tax cuts, public safety and reducing regulation. Her win follows Stacey Abrams’ unsuccessful campaigns in 2018 and 2022, which helped expand Democratic turnout in Georgia.
In short
- Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor’s race.
- She is the first Black woman elected governor of a US state.
- Her win shifts Georgia’s governorship to the Democrats.
Explained simply
Georgia is a politically competitive state in the south-eastern United States, where both major parties have strong support. Black voters are an important part of the state’s electorate and have helped shape recent Democratic campaigns.
The governor leads Georgia’s state government and works with lawmakers on budgets, public services and state policies. Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat and former mayor of Atlanta, will succeed Republican Brian Kemp; her opponent was businessman Rick Jackson.
Bottoms’s election is a milestone for women’s representation in US state government. Georgia’s recent campaigns, including Stacey Abrams’s earlier runs for governor, have drawn attention to voter participation and the role of Black voters in the state’s politics.
Americas Elections Politics World