Democrats flipped a critical governorship in Georgia Tuesday as former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms won a closely watched contest to break Republicans’ 24-year-old hold on the Peach State’s governor’s mansion.
Ms. Bottoms defeated Republican billionaire Rick Jackson to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican.
The victory makes Ms. Bottoms the first Black woman to serve as governor in U.S. history. She joins Byron Donalds, a Republican, in Florida and Wes Moore, a Democrat in Maryland, as the only three Black governors in America.
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Ms. Bottoms served as Atlanta’s mayor and was a senior advisor to President Biden. She campaigned on expanding Medicaid, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour and improving access to affordable housing.
Mr. Jackson, a healthcare executive making his first run for public office, pumped more than $200 million of his personal fortune into the campaign. He pledged to eliminate Georgia’s state income tax while addressing cost of living concerns.
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