Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia's race for governor on Tuesday, defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson to take an office Republicans had held for years.1,4,6
Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and a former Biden administration official, will succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. She is the first woman and the first Black person elected governor of Georgia, and the first Black woman elected governor in the United States, a milestone that also ended a long period of Republican control of the office at the state level.1,4,6,8
Bottoms overcame what was described as an enormous spending disadvantage against Jackson, a wealthy health care executive who put more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign. Like many Democrats across the country, she centered her message on affordability and economic issues.1
In the late fall stretch of the campaign, Bottoms ran advertisements that criticized Jackson over previous comments supporting the construction of data centers and connected him to President Donald Trump, who faced low approval ratings in the state. During the Republican primary campaign in the spring, Jackson had frequently compared himself to Trump, and Bottoms used many of his own words against him in the general election.1
During their sole general election debate last month, Bottoms said Jackson had "said he wants to be Trump's favorite governor." She also sought to connect Jackson to Trump's yearslong effort to sow doubt about the results of the 2020 election. The issue remained relevant in Georgia, where the FBI seized election records related to the 2020 election this year and where the governor will play a critical role in certifying the 2028 presidential election results.1
During the primary, Jackson declined to say who won the 2020 election. Ahead of his matchup against Bottoms, he acknowledged Joe Biden's victory. It was not detailed in the reports what accounted for the change in his position.1
Bottoms linked herself to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, who was up for re-election this year. Ossoff held several "United for Georgia" rallies with Bottoms, and his campaign transferred millions in cash to the Democratic Party of Georgia's coordinated campaign to help her.1
In the final weeks, Bottoms drew support from prominent national Democrats. Former President Barack Obama endorsed her in a video spot, while Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia and several other Democratic officeholders campaigned for her in Georgia.1
Bottoms faced sustained criticism from Republicans over her tenure as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022. Those four years were affected by the Covid pandemic and the social unrest that accompanied it, and she did not run for re-election, citing the challenges she had faced in office.1
Jackson was a first-time candidate who unexpectedly started his campaign in February. He presented himself during the primary as a successful businessman and outsider in the mold of Trump, even though another candidate, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, had Trump's endorsement. After advancing to the general election, Jackson moved to associate himself with Kemp. Some divisions from the primary remained unresolved. Jones, who lost to Jackson in a June runoff, never publicly backed his rival, although Trump privately urged him to do so.1
While Georgia has emerged as a key battleground in federal elections in recent years, it has continued to favor Republicans at the state level. NBC News described Bottoms' win as flipping control of the office for the first time in 24 years, while also noting that Georgia voters had not elected a Democratic governor since 1998. The final certified vote totals were not detailed in the reports. Bottoms addressed supporters after the race was projected for her, and she is now set to take office as Kemp's successor with a role in the certification process ahead of the 2028 presidential election.1,8
