Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also served as a senior adviser to former US president Joe Biden and director of the White House office of public engagement. (EPA Images pic)ATLANTA: Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s race for governor on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state and delivering Democrats a victory in one of the nation's most closely divided political battlegrounds.

The former Atlanta mayor, who will also be the first female governor of the state, defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, according to US media projections.

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.