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.
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.
