Keisha Bottoms makes history as first Black woman elected governor

In a historic first, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the first Black woman to be elected governor of a US state on Tuesday after she defeated Republican billionaire Rick Jackson in Georgia, according to the US media.

Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor and adviser to former President Joe Biden, also made history as the first woman and first Black person elected governor of Georgia.

Her victory marks a major breakthrough for Democrats, who had not won a gubernatorial election in the southern state since 1998.

She defeated Jackson, a healthcare executive who spent more than $200 million of his personal fortune on his campaign, to succeed term-limited Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

Bottoms, who served as Atlanta mayor from 2018 to 2022, campaigned on expanding Medicaid, improving housing affordability and opposing several policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

She also drew strong support from the state’s Black voters, who turned out in large numbers during early voting.

During the campaign, Republicans sought to portray her tenure as Atlanta mayor as a period of rising crime and urban decline, an approach she dismissed as an attempt to paint the city negatively.

Bottoms’ victory came after two previous unsuccessful Democratic bids for the governorship by Stacey Abrams, who lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022.