Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor, is campaigning on a platform of economic relief and healthcare expansion while navigating a political landscape where no Black woman has ever been elected governor in any U.S. state. The former Atlanta mayor and onetime White House adviser is challenging Republican nominee Rick Jackson, a billionaire who has centered his campaign on criticizing Bottoms’ record in city government. Bottoms’ candidacy marks the third consecutive time Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for the office, following Stacey Abrams’ losses in 2018 and 2022.
The race highlights persistent barriers facing Black women in executive politics, with Republican rhetoric frequently focusing on urban crime rates and Bottoms’ decision to leave the mayor’s office before her term ended. Bottoms has emphasized policy distinctions, such as expanding Medicaid eligibility, rather than identity politics, though her personal history and the state’s political context remain central to the narrative. President Donald Trump has joined the attacks on her record, while former President Barack Obama is scheduled to headline a rally in her support.
What the Left Is Saying
Bottoms and her supporters argue that the attacks on her record are disproportionate and rooted in biases against large, majority-Black cities. Bottoms, who traces her family lineage in Georgia back to a plantation in Crawfordville, has largely avoided explicit discussions of slavery or Jim Crow in her public messaging, focusing instead on her executive experience as mayor, magistrate judge, and prosecutor. She has stated that she is "at least a fifth-generation Georgian," underscoring her deep ties to the state.
Former Governor Stacey Abrams, who faced similar scrutiny in previous cycles, noted that Black women running for governor face a "higher bar" because voters lack historical examples of such leadership. Abrams argued that the standard for "executive experience" is not applied equally, stating that Bottoms "has a sound argument" because she has held the role. Abrams, who served as state House minority leader, said Republicans previously minimized her legislative experience, a tactic now being directed at Bottoms.
Supporters like Beverly Rice, a retired educator, described the attacks on Atlanta and Bottoms as driven by "their own biases." Bottoms’ campaign has released advertisements featuring her response to the 2020 street protests following the police killing of Rayshard Brooks, where she urged protesters to "go home" and stated, "We are better than this." Her aides view this messaging as demonstrating both toughness and empathy, framing her as a leader who is "tough and empathetic" and aware of public safety concerns.
What the Right Is Saying
Republican nominee Rick Jackson has consistently attacked Bottoms’ tenure as mayor, characterizing it as a period of "crime-ridden decline." Jackson, a 72-year-old white man who grew up in Atlanta, has used more than $200 million of his own fortune to fund television ads featuring footage of the 2020 demonstrations and violence in the city. His central message in the closing stretch of the campaign has been, "Bad mayors don’t make good governors."
Jackson has specifically criticized Bottoms for not seeking a second term as mayor, arguing that she "turned her back on Atlanta" to join the Biden White House. Surrogates have amplified this message with more visceral language. John King, the state insurance commissioner and a former Atlanta police officer, has stated at rallies that "Keisha Lance Bottoms let Atlanta burn," a reference to a Wendy’s restaurant set on fire during the 2020 protests. This phrase carries additional weight in Atlanta, a city whose symbol is a phoenix rising from the ashes due to Civil War destruction.
President Donald Trump has also intervened, accusing Bottoms of "ruining a once-great city" and stating that she "destroyed Atlanta with her crime and filth and constant riots." Trump insisted that Atlanta is no longer considered a "great city," echoing previous criticisms he leveled against Georgia’s 5th congressional district, which he once called "crime-infested." Republicans argue that their coalition, which is anchored in suburbs and smaller cities, views big-city governance with skepticism.
What the Numbers Show
No Black woman has ever been elected governor in any U.S. state. In Georgia, all 83 governors since 1776 have been white men. The 2026 race is the third consecutive gubernatorial election in which Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman, following Stacey Abrams’ defeats in 2018 and 2022.
Rick Jackson has self-funded his campaign with more than $200 million. Bottoms’ campaign noted a surge in fundraising later in the cycle, contrasting with Jackson’s summer advertising onslaught. Federal statistics indicate that while Atlanta saw a crime spike during Bottoms’ tenure, it was not an outlier compared to the nationwide surge during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic waned, crime rates in both the U.S. and Atlanta dropped significantly.
Policy-wise, Bottoms signed a city ordinance eliminating cash bail for certain nonviolent crimes to reduce jail populations. She also signed an executive order blocking the Atlanta jail from holding federal immigration detainees. Republicans have characterized these actions as failures, while Democrats view them as reforms. Bottoms’ current platform emphasizes expanding Medicaid eligibility, a move that would impact urban and rural populations across racial lines.
The Bottom Line
The Georgia governor’s race serves as a test case for the electability of Black women for executive office in the Deep South, a region where the political landscape has historically been dominated by white men. While Bottoms is campaigning on tangible policy issues like healthcare and economic stability, the election is framed by both parties through the lens of her identity and her record in Atlanta. The outcome will depend on whether voters prioritize the Republican narrative of urban decline or the Democratic argument for experienced, empathetic leadership on statewide economic issues.