Keisha Bottoms makes history as first Black woman elected US governor

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms. Photo: AP

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history after winning Georgia’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.

The former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson on Tuesday, flipping the governorship of the politically competitive state to the Democrats, AP News reports.

Her victory came despite a huge financial gap between the two campaigns.

Her emergence also marks the first time a Democrat has won Georgia’s governorship since 1998.

During the campaign, Bottoms focused largely on her plans to address economic challenges and oppose the policies of President Donald Trump’s administration, rather than making the historic significance of her candidacy the centre of her campaign.

At her victory celebration in Atlanta, where supporters welcomed her with chants of “Keisha! Keisha!”, Bottoms described her election as a victory for residents across the state, including teachers, farmers and business owners.

“No matter who you voted for tonight, I will be a governor for all of Georgia.

“Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear that we want a leader who will put Georgia first and who will stand up to all the chaos coming out of Washington, DC,” Bottoms said.

Her victory also reflects the growing political influence of the Atlanta metropolitan area, whose expanding population has increasingly shaped electoral outcomes in Georgia.

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The state also re-elected its first Jewish senator, Democrat Jon Ossoff, who will continue serving alongside Raphael Warnock, its first Black senator.

Bottoms will succeed Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who could not seek a third term under state law.

The election was the third consecutive Georgia gubernatorial contest in which a Black woman led a major party’s ticket.

Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in the 2018 and 2022 elections. Abrams, who remains active in voting rights advocacy and Democratic fundraising, did not seek the party’s nomination again.

Reacting to the result, Jackson told his supporters, “Tonight, the voters spoke … and I respect their decision.”

Bottoms was one of eight Black candidates nominated by major political parties for governorships across the United States in Tuesday’s elections.

Only three Black people, all Democratic men, had previously been elected governors in the country’s history.

This year’s elections also featured two Black women seeking governorships: Bottoms in Georgia and Republican Lisa Demuth in Minnesota.