Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has been projected the winner of Georgia’s 2026 governor election, defeating Republican Rick Jackson and becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state.
The Associated Press has reported Bottoms’ victory in the Tuesday 3 November election. Axios and The Washington Post have also reported the projected result.
Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, will succeed term-limited Republican governor Brian Kemp. The victory gives Democrats the Georgia governorship for the first time since the end of Roy Barnes’ term in January 2003, after the last Democratic gubernatorial election win in 1998.
A historic first for Georgia and the United States
Bottoms is set to become Georgia’s first Black governor and first woman governor. Her election also marks a national milestone: no Black woman had previously been elected governor in any US state.
The 56-year-old made history in a state that had been governed by Republicans for more than two decades. Before Bottoms’ victory, Black women had won major statewide offices and served in Congress but had never been elected to lead a US state government.
The result came on the same election night that Democratic senator Jon Ossoff was projected to retain his Georgia Senate seat, although the two races concern different offices and do not carry the same implications for control of Congress.
Who is Keisha Lance Bottoms?
Bottoms served as Atlanta mayor from January 2018 until January 2022. Her term included the COVID-19 pandemic, protests after the 2020 police killings of George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks, and intense debate over policing in the city.
She did not seek a second term as mayor and subsequently served as a senior adviser in President Joe Biden’s administration. She secured the 2026 Democratic nomination for governor without a primary runoff.
Who was her Republican opponent?
Rick Jackson, a billionaire businessman and the founder of healthcare staffing firm Jackson Healthcare, was running for elected office for the first time. He won the Republican nomination over more established political figures after heavily financing his campaign.
Jackson campaigned on cutting Georgia’s income tax, reducing government costs and expanding healthcare access through private-sector partnerships. President Donald Trump appeared with Jackson during the campaign.
He challenged Bottoms’ record as Atlanta mayor, particularly over public safety and the city’s response to unrest in 2020. Bottoms rejected his criticisms and questioned his links to state government contracts and the scale of his campaign spending.
What policies did Bottoms promise?
The incoming governor campaigned on expanding healthcare access through Medicaid, increasing public-sector pay, raising Georgia’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and reviewing the expansion of large data centres. She also supported removing the state’s restrictions on abortion after approximately six weeks of pregnancy.
These were campaign proposals, not policies that automatically take effect because of an election result. Their implementation will depend on the governor’s statutory powers, available funding and, in many cases, cooperation from the state legislature.
What changes at the Georgia Capitol?
The governor has substantial influence over the state budget, can sign or veto legislation and can appoint officials to certain vacancies. A change of party in the governor’s office therefore matters even where Republicans continue to hold influence in the legislature.
Georgia voters separately elected members of the state House and Senate. The governor’s race does not itself decide which party controls those chambers or either house of the US Congress.
More broadly, Georgia remains a competitive state in national elections: Donald Trump carried it in the 2024 presidential election, while voters have also elected Democrats to statewide offices.
When does the result become official?
The election-night declaration is a media projection. Georgia’s election authorities must finish counting and certify the returns before the final result is legally official. Fish 4 News is not publishing a final vote total or margin before that process is complete.
Voters can check updates from the Georgia Secretary of State. Our 2026 US midterm election guide explains the wider political context and election timetable.
Sources
- Associated Press: Georgia governor’s race and election-night result
- Axios: Keisha Lance Bottoms projected Georgia governor winner
- The Washington Post: Georgia governor results
- Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Bottoms and Jackson debate
- AARP: candidates’ policies on care and affordability
- Georgia Secretary of State: election results and official information
