NAIROBI, Kenya – Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history after winning Georgia’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state.
Bottoms defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson in the November 3 election, flipping Georgia’s governor’s office to the Democrats after more than two decades of Republican control.
Her victory also makes her the first woman to serve as governor of Georgia, succeeding Republican Brian Kemp, who is leaving office after completing two terms.
The 56-year-old former Atlanta mayor’s win marks a significant milestone in American political representation, with Black women historically underrepresented in the country’s highest elected state offices.
Bottoms served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 before joining former President Joe Biden’s administration as a senior adviser and leading the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Her campaign focused on issues including the cost of living, healthcare, workers’ pay and opposition to President Donald Trump’s agenda.
She also proposed expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and reviewing the rapid expansion of data centres in Georgia.
Her Republican opponent, Jackson, a wealthy healthcare staffing entrepreneur, campaigned on tax cuts, public safety and deregulation. He also invested heavily in his campaign, spending more than $200 million of his personal fortune, according to Associated Press reporting.
Bottoms’ victory ends a Republican hold on Georgia’s governorship that dates back to 2003, when Sonny Perdue became the first Republican elected to the office since Reconstruction.
The result also places a Democrat in the governor’s office in a state that has become increasingly competitive in national elections.
However, Bottoms will face the challenge of governing alongside a Republican-controlled state legislature if the party retains its majorities in both chambers.
Her election follows the unsuccessful gubernatorial campaigns of Stacey Abrams, who sought to become Georgia’s first Black woman governor in 2018 and 2022.
