Keisha Lance Bottoms becomes first Black woman elected US governor

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has been elected governor of the US state of Georgia, making history as the first Black woman to win a governorship anywhere in the United States.

The former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, a billionaire who spent more than $200m of his own money on the campaign, according to media reports. Bottoms, who served as an adviser to former President Joe Biden, will succeed Republican Brian Kemp, who is leaving office in January after two four-year terms.

Bottoms's victory was aided by strong turnout among Black voters during early voting, a key Democratic constituency in Georgia. Her win marks the third consecutive election in which Georgia Democrats nominated a Black woman for governor, after Stacey Abrams lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022.

During the campaign, Bottoms faced Republican criticism over her record as mayor of Atlanta, with opponents seeking to link her tenure to rising crime. She dismissed the attacks as a familiar attempt to portray Georgia's largest city in a negative light, according to the Associated Press.

The result highlights the growing prominence of Black women in Georgia's Democratic politics, a trend underscored by the party's repeated nominations.

Bottoms will take office in January, when Kemp's second term formally ends.