Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history, becoming Georgia’s first Black governor and first woman governor, breaking Republicans' 24-year hold on the office.
Bottoms was victorious in the race on Election Day over GOP nominee, billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson, according to NBC News and Decision Desk HQ. Her win also makes Bottoms the nation’s first Black female governor.
Bottoms' momentous campaign focused on affordability, Medicaid expansion, health care access, and housing. Her affordability plan includes a property tax relief package, slashing the gas tax and allowing local governments to waive sales taxes on groceries.
"If we want a better Georgia, we have to fight for it. We can make Georgia more affordable, restore women's
right to choose, protect our voting rights, protect our communities from data center growth, ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed and fight against the dangerous policies of Donald Trump," Bottoms said during an Oct. 13 debate that Jackson declined to participate in.
Bottoms will replace term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who has served since 2019. Her historic run was also the third straight time that Georgia Democrats nominated a Black woman for governor.
Former Georgia state House minority leader Stacey Abrams was the first Black woman to become a major-party gubernatorial candidate, losing to Kemp by 1 percentage point in 2018. Abrams ran for governor again and lost to Kemp by 7 percentage points in 2022. Abrams is now one of the nation's more prominent voting rights advocates. She has stressed democracy and created organizations including Fair Fight, Fair Count, and the Southern Economic Advancement Project.
Abrams has repeatedly said that Bottoms' political experience makes her more than qualified to become governor.
A married mother of four children, Bottoms served as Atlanta mayor from 2018 to 2022 and was a senior advisor in the Biden administration before declaring her candidacy for governor last year. She has also served as an Atlanta City Council member, magistrate judge, and a prosecutor.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia's Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes first black woman governor
