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Archive photo · 5 February 2019Keisha Lance Bottoms Wins Georgia Governor Race, Defeats Rick Jackson
7 Western Mainstream6 Other2 Local Western1 AsianPhoto: Office of U.S. Senator David Perdue / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia governor race, defeating Rick Jackson. Becomes the nation's first Black woman to hold Georgia governor office.
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16 outlets told this the same way.
Bottoms wins Georgia race
Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor’s race on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman elected governor in the United States and the first Democrat to prevail in a Georgia governor’s race since 1998. Bottoms defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, flipping the top job in a key swing state, and she did so despite a campaign spending deficit driven by Jackson tapping more than $200 million of his own fortune. Bottoms told her victory party in Atlanta, “No matter who you voted for tonight, I will be a governor for all of Georgia,” and she added, “Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear that we want a leader who will put Georgia first.”
Brian Kemp’s term ended as Bottoms prepared to succeed him, and the election also reelected Democratic senator Jon Ossoff to serve alongside Raphael Warnock. Synamon Baldwin, president of the NAACP in Clayton County, said he detoured to Bottoms’ party because “I came straight here because I wanted to be part of history so I can tell my grandkids I was one of the ones who was here.”
Campaign contrasts and projections
Fox News projected that Bottoms would become Georgia’s next governor after defeating Rick Jackson, and it framed her win as “the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history” and “the first Democrat-elected governor of Georgia since 1998.”
NBC News described Bottoms as the former Atlanta mayor and Biden adviser facing billionaire Republican Rick Jackson, while it noted that GOP Gov. Brian Kemp could not run again because of term limits.
Bottoms emphasized policy and affordability during the campaign, and The 19th News reported that she promised to give municipalities the option of doing away with grocery taxes as well as taxes on diapers, baby formula and feminine hygiene products.
Bottoms also pledged to expand Medicaid and to pause the construction of new data centers in Georgia, and she told voters during the rivals’ only debate, “I am not running to be his favorite governor.”
Rick Jackson told supporters, “Tonight, the voters spoke ... and I respect their decision,” as the race ended with Bottoms taking the governor’s office from Republican control.
What the win changes next
Bottoms’ victory came as Georgia reelected Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, and it followed a pattern in which the state had previously elected Black women to lead the Democratic ticket in three consecutive Georgia gubernatorial races.
The Guardian reported that Bottoms campaigned on affordability, pledging to sign legislation expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and to roll back restrictions on abortion access in the state.
The 19th News said Bottoms vowed to protect Black voting rights from federal and state-level attacks, and it described looming redistricting made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court’s April ruling weakening key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described the election as a reversal for Republicans after they had controlled the Governor’s Mansion since Sonny Perdue toppled Democrat Roy Barnes in 2002.
The Times of India reported that Bottoms’ election also marked the first time a Democrat has won Georgia’s gubernatorial race since 1998, and it said she would succeed Brian Kemp, who was barred by law from seeking a third term.
