Bottoms Defeats Jackson in Historic Georgia Win
The former Atlanta mayor becomes the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history after a campaign that drew national celebrity support.
By Rebecca Svoboda ·
Three. That is the number of Black women who will serve in the U.S. Senate simultaneously for the first time, a milestone achieved alongside the election of Keisha Lance Bottoms as Georgia’s governor. Major news outlets projected Bottoms’s victory on Nov. 3, marking her as the first Black woman ever to win a governor’s seat in the United States.
Bottoms defeated Republican challenger Rick Jackson to secure the state’s top executive office. Her election concludes a long sequence of campaigns featuring Black women at the top of Georgia’s Democratic ticket. Stacey Abrams became the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major U.S. party in 2018 and ran again in 2022. With Bottoms, the state has now fielded a Black woman candidate in three consecutive governor’s races.
The path to this moment reflects decades of local organizing. Bottoms previously made history in Atlanta as the city’s second Black woman mayor, following Shirley Franklin. This year, Black women led the field in nearly every primary race for a constitutional statewide office in Georgia, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Nationally, the Associated Press reported that eight Black major party nominees ran for governor. Only two were women: Bottoms and Minnesota Republican Lisa Demuth. Prior to Nov. 3, the U.S. had elected only three Black governors, all men and all from the Democratic Party.
Celebrity endorsements and public appearances helped mobilize voters across the state and beyond. Janelle Monáe posted a photo from an “I Voted” station in Fulton County, wearing a long black coat and a cream newsboy cap. She wrote that she voted early because she made a choice to never stand by and watch the people she love get bullied. Kerry Washington shared a clip of dropping off her mail-in ballot with husband Nnamdi Asomugha, captioning it “Voting team goals.” Jenifer Lewis sang about voting alongside Tasha Smith and Gail Bean.
Younger celebrities also targeted campus voters. At North Carolina A&T, Trinity Tatum and Marsai Martin marched to the polls with students. Rapper JT visited Florida A&M University in Tallahassee to encourage turnout. FAMU is Bottoms’ alma mater. Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kandi Burruss, and Danielle Brooks also shared updates from their early voting efforts, while Jayda Cheaves posted a photo from a Bottoms campaign event.
Other states recorded firsts for Black women in the same election cycle. In Illinois, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton won her U.S. Senate race. Her victory ensures that three Black women will sit in the Senate at the same time. In Colorado, Melat Kiros is projected to become the first Black Ethiopian woman the state has sent to Congress.
Bottoms will assume office after her inauguration in 2027. Her administration will lead Georgia as it transitions from the previous administration. The win follows a primary season where Black women dominated the ballot in statewide races. The election results stand as a record of the first Black woman elected to the governorship in any U.S. state.
The projection of Bottoms’s win was confirmed by several major outlets on the night of Nov. 3. Jackson conceded or was projected to lose the race. The new governor-elect will take office in January 2027. Her platform and policy agenda have been detailed in campaign materials released throughout the fall. The state legislature will convene in its next session to support the new administration.
