Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia, becoming first Black woman elected governor

Keisha Lance Bottoms entered the Georgia governor's race as a former Atlanta mayor and former adviser to ex-President Joe Biden, according to Al Jazeera. Her Republican opponent was Rick Jackson.

The contest offered Democrats a chance to reclaim an office they had not won in more than 20 years, according to NPR News. Forbes described Jackson as a billionaire and said the race had been projected to be razor thin.

On October 28, 2026, Bottoms appeared at a rally in south Atlanta with former President Barack Obama and Sen. Jon Ossoff, according to the photo caption supplied by Georgia Recorder.

Bottoms won Tuesday's election against Jackson, The Daily Beast Latest Articles reported. The supplied coverage does not include vote totals or a final margin, so it does not establish whether the result matched expectations of a close contest.

By November 4, NBC News reported that Bottoms had won and flipped the governor's office for Democrats. NPR News reported that Georgia had elected the nation's first Black female governor.

Bottoms is Georgia's governor-elect. The historic distinction extends beyond the state: she is the first Black woman elected governor anywhere in the United States, according to World News CNA.

The result also ends a gap of more than two decades since Georgia last elected a Democratic governor, NPR News reported. The supplied reports establish the outcome, but offer no details about a transition timetable or Bottoms' first governing priorities.