Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms Wins Governor's Race, Ending More Than 20 Years of Republican Rule

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has been elected governor of Georgia, defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson in a historic victory that ends more than two decades of Republican control of the governor’s mansion and makes her the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state.

The former Atlanta mayor, 56, was projected the winner Tuesday night by major television networks, including CBS News, CNN, and NBC News, delivering another significant victory for Democrats in one of the nation’s most competitive political battlegrounds.

Bottoms will also become Georgia’s first female governor and its first Black governor, marking a historic milestone in a state whose political landscape has undergone considerable changes in recent years.

Her victory ends a Republican hold on the governorship that began in 2003, when Sonny Perdue took office after defeating Democratic Governor Roy Barnes in the 2002 election.

Bottoms will succeed Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who was prohibited by term limits from seeking a third consecutive term.

The outcome represents a major political setback for Republicans, who had maintained control of Georgia’s executive branch even as Democrats achieved significant victories in presidential and U.S. Senate elections.

Bottoms previously served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 until 2022, when she declined to seek reelection. She later joined President Joe Biden’s administration, serving as a senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

Her return to electoral politics placed her at the center of one of the most closely watched gubernatorial contests of the 2026 midterm elections.

Throughout the campaign, Bottoms emphasized healthcare affordability, economic opportunity, housing costs, and voting rights, seeking to assemble a broad coalition of Democratic voters, independents, and moderate Republicans.

She called for expanding Medicaid in Georgia, arguing that the state’s existing healthcare policies had left too many residents without adequate access to medical services, particularly in rural communities.

Bottoms also proposed eliminating state income taxes for teachers, an initiative intended to address concerns about educator recruitment and retention.

Her campaign highlighted the financial pressures confronting working families and argued that Georgia’s government needed to devote greater attention to housing affordability, education, and healthcare.

Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive and founder of Jackson Healthcare, presented himself as a political outsider with extensive business experience.

He emphasized tax reductions, public safety, economic development, and reducing government regulations, arguing that his business background would allow him to manage the state more effectively.

Jackson invested heavily in his campaign, spending more than $100 million of his personal fortune in an effort to win the governorship.

Despite that extraordinary financial advantage, Bottoms remained competitive throughout the campaign and ultimately prevailed.

The Republican nominee had emerged from a contentious primary contest in which he defeated Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones in a runoff election.

Bottoms, meanwhile, secured the Democratic nomination in May after winning a majority of the primary vote against a field that included former Republican Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, former state Senator Jason Esteves, and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

The general election also featured Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, who had been his party’s presidential nominee in 2024.

Bottoms’ victory reflects the growing competitiveness of Georgia politics, where changing demographics and increased voter participation have transformed a once reliably Republican state into a major national battleground.

Democrats carried Georgia in the 2020 presidential election and subsequently won both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats, but Republicans continued to dominate gubernatorial contests.

Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in both 2018 and 2022, maintaining Republican control of the governor’s office despite the state’s increasingly competitive electoral environment.

Abrams’ campaigns, although unsuccessful, helped establish an extensive voter registration and turnout operation that contributed to subsequent Democratic victories.