Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms made history on Wednesday by winning the Georgia governor’s race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state. Her victory over Republican billionaire Rick Jackson also marks a major political shift in Georgia, returning the governor’s office to Democrats after more than two decades of Republican control.
Bottoms, 56, will succeed outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who could not seek another term because of term limits. She will also become Georgia’s first woman governor.
The result is a setback for US President Donald Trump, who had endorsed Jackson in July and campaigned alongside him in the Atlanta area in the closing weeks of the election. Former President Barack Obama, meanwhile, had rallied
for Bottoms in Georgia in late October.
The result is particularly significant given Georgia’s position as one of the country’s closely contested political battlegrounds. The state backed Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election before voting for Trump in 2024.
With around 75 per cent of votes counted, Bottoms was leading Jackson by 55.4 per cent to 44.6 per cent, according to the latest figures reported by The Wall Street Journal. Major US television networks have called the race in her favour.
WHO IS KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS?
A former mayor of Atlanta, Bottoms served in the position from January 2018 to January 2022. She did not seek a second term and subsequently joined the Biden administration as a senior adviser to the President, leading the White House Office of Public Engagement.
She later served as a senior adviser to Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
Her victory marks a historic moment for Black women in American politics, who have long been an important part of the Democratic Party’s electoral coalition but have remained underrepresented in the country’s highest elected offices.
Bottoms’ win also comes eight years after fellow Democrat Stacey Abrams became the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major US political party. Abrams lost the 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial contests, but her campaigns helped expand Democratic mobilisation in Georgia.
WHAT DID BOTTOMS PROMISE?
During her campaign, Bottoms placed affordability, healthcare and voting rights at the centre of her pitch to voters.
She promised to expand Medicaid, lower healthcare and prescription drug costs, and improve access to medical services, particularly in rural communities. Her healthcare plan also proposed ending Georgia’s existing Pathways programme and replacing it with broader coverage.
On the economic front, she focused on bringing down costs for families, including housing and everyday essentials. She also pledged to protect voting rights and oppose measures that make it harder for people to cast their ballots.
Her proposals were pitched against Jackson’s campaign, which focused on tax cuts, public safety, deregulation and his record as a businessman.
WHO IS RICK JACKSON, AND HOW MUCH DID HE SPEND?
Jackson, 72, is the founder of healthcare staffing company Jackson Healthcare and entered the gubernatorial race presenting himself as a political outsider.
He frequently highlighted his childhood in Georgia’s foster care system, portraying his rise from a difficult upbringing to billionaire businessman as evidence of his ability to understand ordinary families and create economic opportunities.
His campaign was also notable for the extraordinary amount of money he invested in the contest. Jackson spent more than $100 million of his personal fortune during the Republican primary and subsequently poured more money into the general election campaign.
By late October, he had invested more than $200 million of his own money in the race, according to campaign finance disclosures reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Jackson defeated Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who had Trump’s backing, in the Republican primary runoff in June before taking on Bottoms. Despite his financial advantage, Jackson could not prevent the Democratic candidate from winning the race.
A DOUBLE BOOST FOR DEMOCRATS IN GEORGIA
Bottoms’ gubernatorial victory was accompanied by another significant Democratic result in the state.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won re-election to the US Senate, defeating Republican Congressman Mike Collins. The Associated Press and CBS News projected Ossoff as the winner. Ossoff was the only Democratic senator seeking re-election in a state that Trump carried in 2024. His victory is therefore important for Democrats as they seek to regain control of the Senate.
The two results reveal Georgia’s continued importance as a battleground state in American politics. While Republicans had held the governor’s office for more than two decades, Democrats have continued to build their electoral strength in the state, helped by the mobilisation of Black voters and a broader coalition of urban and suburban voters.
For Trump, the outcome adds to the challenges facing Republicans in the midterm elections, which are being closely watched as a measure of voter sentiment towards his presidency. For Democrats, Bottoms’ win delivers both a historic first and a major state-level breakthrough, with the party now set to take control of the governor’s office in a state that has remained central to the country’s political contest.
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