Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia governor race, flips state office
Why it matters: Bottoms becomes the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history and Georgia’s first Democratic governor since 1998.
Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor’s race on Tuesday, defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson and handing Democrats the office for the first time in nearly three decades. The former Atlanta mayor will succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp and becomes the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history. Her victory in a key swing state came despite Jackson pouring more than $200 million of his own money into the campaign. Bottoms centered her run on expanding Medicaid, raising Georgia’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and pushing back on President Donald Trump, who endorsed Jackson. NPR reported she may face at least one Republican-controlled legislative chamber as she tries to advance her agenda.