Keisha Lance Bottoms Becomes First Black Woman Governor

Keisha Lance Bottoms has won Georgia’s gubernatorial election, making history as the first Black woman elected governor in any US state. The Democrat defeated Republican candidate Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive, in the election held on November 3.

Bottoms, 56, will succeed outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who is completing his second and final consecutive term. This victory marks the return of 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 of Atlanta until 2022, Bottoms focused on public safety, housing, economic development, and social equity. After her mayoral term, she served as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement from 2022 to 2023 and became a senior adviser to Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.

Bottoms is expected to take office in January 2027, inheriting a state facing significant debates over healthcare access, education, and economic development.