Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia governor's race

Summarised from 6 outlets · Updated 4 Nov, 03:39 · Archive

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has been elected Georgia governor, becoming the first Black woman to win a governorship in the United States.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has won Georgia's gubernatorial race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor in the United States. She defeated Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman and healthcare executive, in an election that flipped Georgia's top office to the Democrats for the first time since 1998. With about 75 per cent of ballots counted, Bottoms led with 55.4 per cent of the vote to Jackson's 44.6 per cent.

Bottoms, 56, served as Atlanta's mayor from 2018 to 2022 and later joined former President Joe Biden's White House as a senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement. She emerged from the Democratic primary to face Jackson in the open-seat race to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

Jackson poured more than $200 million of his personal fortune into his campaign, having defeated Trump-endorsed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones in the Republican primary runoff. Despite the significant financial advantage, Jackson was unable to overcome Bottoms' candidacy.

Bottoms told the Associated Press that during her campaign she faced Republican attempts to characterise her time as Atlanta mayor as leading to crime-ridden decline. She described this as 'a longstanding playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place'. Al Jazeera reports that Bottoms was propelled to victory in part by the state's significant Black voting bloc, which turned out in large numbers during early voting.

Bottoms' win marks the third consecutive election cycle in which Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for governor. Voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams lost to Kemp in both 2018 and 2022 but chose not to compete this year.

Before Election Day, Bottoms said: 'What we do in this moment will echo through history.' Throughout her campaign, she frequently downplayed the historic nature of her run, choosing instead to focus on addressing economic disparities and acting as a counterweight to President Donald Trump's administration in Washington. She urged voters to 'choose hope over fear, progress over division, and come together to build a better Georgia for everyone'.

Bottoms' victory defies a historical reluctance among voters to select state leaders from Atlanta, highlighting the political transformation driven by the expansion of the state's primary metropolitan area. Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff was also reelected in the same election.

How it is being reported

• Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes first black woman elected governor of US stateNews outlets are calling the Georgia governor's race for Keisha Lance Bottoms, which would deliver Democrats a victory in one of the nation's most closely divided political battlegroundsThe Mirror · 4 Nov, 03:28
• Keisha Lance Bottoms makes history as first Black woman elected Georgia governorHer victory follows Georgia reelecting its first Jewish senator, Democrat Jon Ossoff, alongside its first Black senator, Raphael WarnockIndependent World · 4 Nov, 02:50
• Dem Keisha Bottoms wins historic Georgia governor’s race to flip Peach StateThe former Atlanta mayor will become Georgia's first black and female governor.New York Post · 4 Nov, 02:49
• Keisha Lance Bottoms makes US history as first Black woman elected governorBottoms, a former adviser to ex-President Joe Biden, beat Republican Rick Jackson.Al Jazeera · 4 Nov, 02:25
• Georgia elects the nation's first Black female governorKeisha Lance Bottoms' win marks the first time Georgia has elected a Democratic governor in more than 20 years.NPR · 4 Nov, 02:24
• Georgia governor's mansion projected to flip blue for first time in nearly 30 yearsDemocrat Keisha Lance Bottoms makes history as the first Black woman elected governor in America, flipping Georgia blue after over two decades.Fox News · 4 Nov, 02:19

In this story: Keisha Lance Bottoms · Rick Jackson · Georgia · Atlanta · Brian Kemp · Joe Biden · Jon Ossoff · Stacey Abrams

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem · Corrections log