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Keisha Lance Bottoms
Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Executive Office of the President of the United States (Public domain)

Democratic · Georgia

Keisha Lance Bottoms

Governor-elect of Georgia; former Mayor of Atlanta

Won

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected governor of Georgia on Nov. 3, 2026, defeating Republican Rick Jackson 54.3% to 45.7% (AP data via NBC News). She becomes the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history and flips the seat for Democrats.

2026 race

Governor of Georgia

  • Bottoms54.3%
  • Jackson45.7%

Result Won Won (flip): Bottoms 54.3%, Jackson 45.7%

Source: nbcnews.com

Biography

Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and later served as a senior adviser in the Biden White House. NBC News counted her win among several Democratic governorship flips that give the party a majority of governorships for the first time in 16 years.

Record

  • Mayor of Atlanta (2018–2022)
  • Senior adviser to President Biden

Life & background

Things you might not know, from public records.

  • She became a magistrate judge in Atlanta in 2002. [Source]

Coverage

Updated