Keisha Lance Bottoms makes US history as first Black woman elected governor
03 November 2026
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY,
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history as the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.
The former Atlanta mayor emerged victorious over her billionaire opponent, Republican Rick Jackson, who spent more than $200m of his personal fortune in an attempt to succeed popular outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
- list 1 of 3Georgia Senate candidates make final appeals ahead of US midterms
- list 2 of 3How US midterms have cost a record $12bn as cost of living soars
- list 3 of 3Jon Ossoff wins Georgia Senate race, defeating Republican Mike Collins
end of list
Bottoms, an adviser to former US President Joe Biden, was propelled to victory in part by the state’s significant Black voting bloc, which turned out in large numbers during early voting.
During the campaign, she faced Republican attempts to characterise her time as mayor as a crime-ridden decline for the state’s largest city.
“It’s a longstanding playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place,” Bottoms told the Associated Press news agency.
Bottoms’s win marks the third consecutive time that Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for governor. Stacey Abrams lost in 2018 and 2022 to Kemp, who is leaving office in January after eight years due to term limits.
Related News
Spain’s deadly train crash redraws electoral battle lines
Grain under fire: Russian, Ukrainian Black Sea attacks threaten food supply
Ex-DRC President Joseph Kabila joins hands with M23 rebels: Why it matters
