Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history in the 2026 US midterm elections, defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman elected governor of a US state and Georgia’s first female governor.
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has won Georgia’s gubernatorial election, breaking a historic barrier in American politics and ending more than two decades of Republican control of the state’s governor’s office.
The 56-year-old former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican candidate Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive, in Tuesday’s November 3 election, according to media projections.
Her victory makes her the first Black woman elected governor of any US state, while also making her the first woman to lead Georgia as governor.
Bottoms is expected to succeed outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who is completing his second and final consecutive term. Her victory also returns Georgia’s governorship to Democratic control for the first time since 2002, when former Governor Roy Barnes lost his re-election bid.
During her tenure as mayor, which lasted until 2022, she focused on issues including public safety, housing, economic development and social equity.
After leaving City Hall, Bottoms joined the administration of former US President Joe Biden, serving as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement from 2022 to 2023. She later became a senior adviser to Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.
Her journey to the governorship followed years of efforts by Black women to break barriers in American state politics, particularly in Georgia, where Democrat Stacey Abrams previously made unsuccessful bids for the governorship in 2018 and 2022.
For Keisha Lance Bottoms, the victory represents a significant moment for Black women in American political leadership, particularly in a state that has never before elected a woman or a Black person to its highest office.
She is expected to take office in January 2027, when she will begin her term as Georgia’s 84th governor. Her administration will inherit a state facing debates over healthcare access, affordability, education and economic development.
