Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history after winning Georgia’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first Black woman to be elected governor of a US state.
Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson in Tuesday’s election, according to projections by US media, delivering a major victory for Democrats in one of America’s most fiercely contested political states.
The 56-year-old will also become Georgia’s first female governor, succeeding Republican Brian Kemp, who is stepping down after completing two consecutive terms.
Before her latest political achievement, Bottoms served as a senior adviser to former US President Joe Biden and headed the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Her victory represents a significant breakthrough for Black women in American politics. Although they have historically been influential within the Democratic Party, they remain underrepresented in some of the country’s highest elected offices.
Bottoms’ historic win came on the same night Stacey Plaskett was elected governor of the US Virgin Islands, becoming the first Black woman to lead a US jurisdiction.
In Florida, Republican US Representative Byron Donalds also won the governorship, making him the first Black Republican to be elected governor in the United States.
Bottoms’ victory signals a major political development in Georgia, where Black voters have been central to the Democratic coalition that helped turn the traditionally Republican state into a key battleground in national elections.
Republicans had held Georgia’s governorship for more than 20 years before her victory.
Her opponent, Jackson, is a billionaire businessman and founder of healthcare staffing firm Jackson Healthcare. He presented himself as a political outsider during the campaign, promising tax reductions, stronger public safety and less government regulation.
Bottoms’ election comes eight years after fellow Democrat Stacey Abrams became the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major political party in the United States.
Although Abrams lost Georgia’s gubernatorial elections in 2018 and 2022, her campaigns helped establish a multigenerational and multiracial political coalition that boosted Democratic voter participation.
The mobilisation also played a role in the election of two Democratic US senators and helped Georgia cast its electoral votes for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in decades.
Bottoms’ victory adds another milestone to the growing presence of Black women in American political leadership.