Keisha Lance Bottoms Wins Georgia Governor Race and Becomes First Black Woman Elected Governor in U.S. History

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms is the projected winner of Georgia’s governor race, according to NBC News and Decision Desk HQ projections reported by USA Today on Tuesday night. Her win makes her the first Black woman elected governor of a state in American history, and the first woman to hold Georgia’s top office.

Bottoms defeated Republican nominee Rick Jackson, a health care executive, and will replace term-limited Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who has served since 2019. Her win breaks a Republican hold on the governor’s office that lasted 24 years.

A campaign built on affordability

Bottoms served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and later worked as a senior adviser in the Biden administration before running for governor. Her campaign centered on affordability, Medicaid expansion, health care access, and housing.

Her affordability plan includes a property tax relief package, a cut to the gas tax, and letting local governments waive sales taxes on groceries. During an Oct. 13 debate that Jackson did not attend, she said Georgia should be made more affordable and said she would defend voting rights and push back against policies from President Donald Trump.

What comes next in Georgia

Bottoms takes over from Kemp after a race in which affordability was the central issue. The result came on a night when Democrats also won Senate races in Georgia, North Carolina, and New Hampshire, according to projections reported by USA Today.

Reporting based on coverage by USA Today.