Keisha Lance Bottoms is Democrats’ pick in high-stakes Georgia governor’s race

Keisha Lance Bottoms is Democrats’ pick in high-stakes Georgia governor’s race

The former mayor of Atlanta could be the nation’s first Black woman governor.

By Grace Panetta
Politics Reporter
The 19th
Republished From The 19th

Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Georgia, avoiding a runoff and setting up a chance to make history.

Bottoms served as the mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and then led the White House’s public engagement efforts under President Joe Biden, who has backed her campaign in a rare post-presidential endorsement.

When Bottoms  jumped into the open governor’s race a year ago to replace Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, it was already set to be one of the most highly watched and consequential in the nation. While Georgia has two Democratic U.S. senators, it hasn’t elected a Democrat to the governor’s office in 25 years. A recent decision from the U.S. Supreme Court giving red states the green light to eliminate majority-Black districts has only further raised the stakes of the race and energized the Democratic base.

“The power is in our hands, the ability to shape the future for generations not yet born,” Bottoms said Sunday at a meet-and-greet with voters near Augusta. “We’ve got a lot of challenges facing us, many of which I thought were battles that have been fought and won, but now it’s our turn.”

The three main candidates vying to get into a runoff with Bottoms were Michael Thurmond, the former DeKalb County executive; former state Sen. Jason Esteves; and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican-turned-Democrat who resisted President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 election.

Bottoms could also make history as Georgia’s first woman governor and the first Black woman elected governor in United States history. Stacey Abrams sought to break that barrier as the Democratic nominee for governor in 2018 and 2022 but lost twice in a row to Kemp. But Bottoms first needs to get through a contentious general election.

Republicans have a runoff of their own, between Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is endorsed by Trump, and billionaire healthcare executive Rick Jackson, who has spent over $50 million of his own money in the race.

Walter Cheatham, an attendee at Bottoms’ event in Evans, asked her why he hadn’t seen more of the ads she has up on television.

“What you’re missing is Rick Jackson’s money,” she said.

“It’s not for a lack of will or resources,” she added. “It’s not just me, it’s on the Democratic side. period.”

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