Cuyahoga Readers Watch History as Bottoms Wins Georgia Governorship

Keisha Lance Bottoms was projected on Nov. 3 to become the first Black woman elected governor in the United States. Major news outlets confirmed her victory for the Georgia governor’s seat, marking a historic shift in state leadership.

Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, defeated Republican candidate Rick Jackson. Her win concludes a long period of political campaigning in the state. She joins a line of Black women leaders in Georgia, following Shirley Franklin who served as the city’s second Black woman mayor.

The path to this election involved years of groundwork by other candidates. Stacey Abrams was the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major U.S. party in 2018. She ran again in 2022. With Bottoms, Georgia has featured a Black woman at the top of the Democratic ticket in three consecutive governor’s races.

National data from the Associated Press indicates that eight Black major party nominees ran for governor this year. Only two were Black women: Bottoms and Minnesota Republican Lisa Demuth. Prior to this election, the United States had elected only three Black governors, all of whom were Democratic men.

Campaign efforts extended beyond traditional political channels, involving numerous public figures who encouraged voting. In Fulton County, Janelle Monáe posted a photo at an "I Voted" station. She wrote, "Early voted. Early in life I made a choice to never stand by and watch the people I love get bullied. My bill of responsibility is show up for my community."

Kerry Washington shared a video of herself and her husband, Nnamdi Asomugha, dropping off a mail-in ballot. She captioned the post "Voting team goals." Other celebrities, including Jenifer Lewis, Tasha Smith, Gail Bean, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Danielle Brooks, and Kandi Burruss, publicly confirmed their votes.

Student organizations also participated in the campaign. At North Carolina A&T, Trinity Tatum and Marsai Martin marched to the polls with students. In Tallahassee, rapper JT visited Florida A&M University to encourage students to vote. The university is also Bottoms’ alma mater.