US elections: K Bottoms makes history as first Black woman governor, flips Georgia seat

File photo: Keisha Lance Bottoms

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has been elected governor of Georgia, becoming the first Black woman to hold the office after defeating Republican businessman Rick Jackson in Tuesday's election, the Associated Press reported.Her victory also marks the first time a Democrat has won the state's gubernatorial race since 1998.A former mayor of Atlanta, Bottoms won despite a significant campaign spending disadvantage, with Jackson having spent more than $200 million of his personal fortune on his campaign. She will succeed Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who was barred by law from seeking a third term.Bottoms' victory also marks a shift in a state where voters have historically been reluctant to elect candidates from Atlanta to the governor's office.

According to news agency AP, the growth of Georgia's largest metropolitan area has been reshaping the state's political landscape.

Bottoms focused campaign on economy and policy

Although her election breaks a historic barrier, Bottoms largely focused her campaign on economic issues and her policy proposals rather than the significance of her candidacy.The descendant of enslaved Georgians, she has spoken about her family's history in the state and her grandfather's move from rural Georgia to Atlanta.

“I am at least a fifth-generation Georgian,” she said. “I say ‘at least’ because we can only trace our family back five generations — to a plantation in Crawfordville.”She also recalled how her grandfather had to “walk through these back doors” of downtown buildings that she would later enter through the front as Atlanta's mayor. She said her ancestry “is always present with me”.On policy, Bottoms called for expanding Medicaid to cover hundreds of thousands more people and raising Georgia's minimum wage to $15 an hour.

She also pledged to increase pay for teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees.Her proposals included pausing new data centre developments, stopping the installation of additional automated Flock cameras used by law enforcement, and repealing Georgia's ban on abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy.“This is a life and death issue,” she said of the abortion restrictions, citing cases of women dying from miscarriages and pregnancy complications because doctors feared criminal prosecution under the law.Bottoms also pledged to “make sure we are protected from the harmful policies of Donald Trump”.During the campaign, she repeatedly contrasted her approach with Jackson's stated ambition to govern like “Trump with a Southern tone” and become the president's “favorite governor”.“I’m not running to be his favorite governor,” Bottoms said during the rivals' only debate. “I’m running to work on behalf of people like you.”

Jackson's spending and attacks fail to prevent defeat

Jackson, a businessman who founded Jackson Healthcare, entered the governor's race as a relatively unknown candidate but used his personal wealth and outsider appeal to secure the Republican nomination.He had defeated the sitting lieutenant governor, who had received Trump's early endorsement, as well as the state attorney general and secretary of state.During the general election campaign, Jackson attacked Bottoms' record as Atlanta mayor.

His television advertisements featured footage of protests following the 2020 police killings of Rayshard Brooks in Atlanta and George Floyd in Minneapolis. He also criticised Bottoms for not seeking a second term as mayor, accusing her of abandoning the city.Bottoms, in turn, questioned Jackson's claims that he understood the economic difficulties faced by ordinary Georgians. She pointed to his company's government contracts and accused him of using money earned from taxpayers to try to “buy this election”.

Georgia's political landscape faces a new test

Bottoms' election comes as Georgia has increasingly become a two-party battleground. Democrats have won three US Senate elections in the state since Trump's first presidential victory a decade ago.The state also re-elected Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff on Tuesday. He will serve alongside Raphael Warnock, Georgia's first Black senator. Ossoff is also the state's first Jewish senator.Bottoms' victory follows three consecutive Georgia gubernatorial elections in which a Black woman led the Democratic ticket.

Republican Kemp defeated Stacey Abrams in the previous two contests. Abrams, a prominent voting rights advocate and Democratic fundraiser, did not seek the nomination for a third run.Bottoms was among eight Black major-party nominees for governor on Tuesday's ballot. There have been only three Black governors elected in US history, all Democratic men.This year, Bottoms and Republican Lisa Demuth of Minnesota were both seeking to become the first Black women elected governor of their respective states.Republicans have controlled Georgia's governorship and both chambers of its General Assembly for more than two decades.Democrats were seeking to flip the state House in Tuesday's elections, while Republicans were expected to retain their Senate majority, leaving Bottoms potentially having to work with at least one Republican-controlled chamber.