Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson.
With this historic victory, she breaks multiple barriers to become the first Black woman ever elected as a governor in United States history.
As per preliminary results, Keisha Lance Bottoms (DEM) has secured 95% votes for the seat.
In addition to making national history, Bottoms is also Georgia’s first female governor and the first Democrat to win the state’s governorship since 1998, succeeding outgoing Republican Governor Brian Kemp.
Bottoms previously served as the mayor of Atlanta and as a senior adviser in the Biden administration.
According to US media projections, the former Atlanta mayor, who will also be the first female governor of the state, defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, delivering Democrats a victory in one of the nation’s most closely divided political battlegrounds.
She succeeds Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who is leaving office after serving two consecutive terms.
Bottoms, 56, also previously served as a senior adviser to former President Joe Biden and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
The victory marked a new milestone for Black women in American politics, who have long been a core base within the Democratic Party but remain underrepresented in the nation’s highest elected offices.
The same evening, Stacey Plaskett was elected governor of the US Virgin Islands, a US territory, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US jurisdiction.
