Keisha Lance Bottoms Wins Historic Georgia Governor’s Race, First Black Woman Elected

Keisha Lance Bottoms has won the Georgia governor’s race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor in the United States. She defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, and it marked the first time the state has elected a Democratic governor in more than two decades.

The victory stood out during a fiercely competitive midterm election season that saw Democrats deliver a nationwide rebuke of Donald Trump and the Republican Party, ultimately winning total control of Congress.

The Democratic win was a major storyline in several battleground states. In Georgia, Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff was re-elected. In Texas, Democrat James Talarico defeated Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton. In South Carolina, Democrat Annie Andrews claimed the Senate seat. In another historic first, Democrat Chris Pappas won New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race and became the first openly gay male senator to win such a seat, defeating Republican John Sununu.

Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor who also served as an adviser in the Biden administration, won despite a massive spending disadvantage. Jackson poured tens of millions of dollars of his own fortune into the campaign.

Bottoms, like other Democrats across the country, leaned on frustration with the Trump administration to build a campaign that largely focused on the rising cost of living and quality-of-life issues. During her gubernatorial bid, she proposed allowing local municipalities to eliminate the sales tax on groceries, along with taxes on diapers, baby formula and feminine hygiene products. She also proposed eliminating state income tax for public school teachers and taxes on car insurance premiums, homeowner’s insurance and gas. Bottoms also vowed to expand Medicaid and pause the construction of new data centers in Georgia.

“Good evening, Georgia,” Bottoms began in her victory speech Tuesday night. “Over the last year and a half, we have traveled from the red hills of Georgia to the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Piedmont, from the coastal shores to rolling farmlands, from urban streets to rural communities, and with each stop, your faces, your families, your communities, your hopes and your dreams, and even your disappointments have been imprinted upon my heart. This campaign was about every community in every corner of Georgia,” she continued. “Georgia, this win is for all of us. Thank you, Georgia. I am honored to be your 84th governor.”

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