Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, has won Georgia’s gubernatorial election and is set to become the first Black woman to govern a U.S. state. CBS News projected her victory over Republican Rick Jackson while she held more than 54.6% of the vote, with 80% of ballots counted, according to the report.
Bottoms will also be the first woman to serve as Georgia’s governor and the first Democrat elected to the post since 1998. Republicans have controlled the state government since 2003. She succeeds Republican Brian Kemp, who was barred from seeking a third consecutive term.
The result carries particular historical significance in Georgia, the home state of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Black residents make up 32.4% of the state’s population, according to the U.S. Census, but Georgia had never elected a Black woman governor.
Bottoms campaigned on improving access to health care, raising the minimum wage and opposing abortion restrictions. Her proposals also focused on the cost of living, education and reducing household expenses for housing and food, including through an expansion of Medicaid, the public health program for people with low incomes. She also sought to link Jackson to President Donald Trump’s policies.
Jackson, a health care billionaire, spent more than $200 million of his own money on the campaign. He presented himself as an outsider to traditional politics and advocated tax cuts and fewer regulations.
Before running for governor, Bottoms served on Atlanta’s city council from 2010 to 2018 and as mayor from 2018 to 2022. During her time as mayor, she dealt with the Covid-19 pandemic and protests against racism following the 2020 killing of George Floyd. She later served as an adviser in Joe Biden’s administration.
The election marks a change of party in Georgia’s state government during Trump’s second term. The report also notes that Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won re-election on Tuesday, retaining one of the party’s seats in the U.S. Senate.
Sources: Folha Mundo.