Keisha Lance Bottoms Makes History as First Black Woman Elected Governor

The win marked the first time Georgia elected a Democratic governor in more than two decades

Keisha Lance Bottoms has won the Georgia governor’s race, becoming the first Black female governor elected in the United States. Bottoms defeated Republican billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, marking the first time the swing state has elected a Democratic governor in more than two decades.

The victory was a highlight in a massively successful night for Democrats in one of the most bitter midterm elections in recent history that saw the Democratic Party win total control of Congress in a nationwide rebuke of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Democratic Senate candidates won big in other battleground states including Texas, where Democrat James Talarico has defeated Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton, and South Carolina, that saw pediatrician Annie Andrews claim the South Carolina Senate seat. In another historic first, Democrat Chris Pappas won New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race, and will be the first openly gay male senator with his victory over Republican John Sununu.

Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor who also served as an adviser in the Biden administration, claimed victory on Tuesday night despite a colossal spending disadvantage against Jackson, who pumped tens of millions of his own fortune into his campaign.

Bottoms, like other Democrats across the nation, wielded frustration over the Trump administration to bolster a campaign that remained tightly focused on taking on the rising cost of living and quality of life issues. During her bid for governor, Bottoms proposed allowing local municipalities to eliminate the sales tax on groceries along with taxes on diapers, baby formula and feminine hygiene products; she also proposed doing away with the state income tax for public school teachers and the state’s tax on car insurance premiums, homeowner’s insurance, and gas. Bottoms also vowed to expand Medicaid and to pause the construction of new data centers in Georgia.

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“Good evening, Georgia,” Bottoms began in her victory speech Tuesday night. “Over the last year and a half, we have traveled from the red hills of Georgia to the Blue Ridge Mountains of the Piedmont, from the coastal shores to rolling farmlands, from urban streets to rural communities, and with each stop, your faces, your families, your communities, your hopes and your dreams, and even your disappointments have been imprinted upon my heart, this campaign was about every community in every corner of Georgia,” she continued. “Georgia, this win is for all of us. Thank you, Georgia. I am honored to be your 84th governor.”