Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and former senior advisor in the Biden administration, overcame a substantial financial disadvantage in the race. Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive, spent more than $100 million of his own funds on the campaign. Despite this spending gap, Bottoms secured victory by focusing on affordability and economic issues, while also leveraging Jackson’s past comments supporting President Donald Trump and his refusal to initially acknowledge the 2020 election results. During their sole general election debate, Bottoms cited Jackson’s primary campaign statements where he described wanting to be “Trump’s favorite governor.”
The election results extend a broader trend of women winning statewide offices in Georgia. In addition to Bottoms, seven other women were declared winners in statewide contests. Penny Brown Reynolds defeated Republican Tim Fleming for Secretary of State, becoming the first Black woman elected to that position. Tanya Miller defeated Republican Brian Strickland to become the first woman elected Georgia Attorney General. Other women elected to statewide executive or regulatory positions include Katherine Juhan-Arnold (Agriculture Commissioner), Nikki Porcher (Labor Commissioner), Keisha Sean Waites (Insurance Commissioner), Lydia Powell (State School Superintendent), and Shelia Edwards (Public Service Commission, District 5).
Bottoms will succeed term-limited Republican Governor Brian Kemp. The governor’s office holds critical responsibilities, including certifying presidential election results, a role that has become particularly sensitive following the FBI’s seizure of election records related to the 2020 election in Georgia. Bottoms’ campaign was supported by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who held joint rallies with her and whose campaign transferred millions in cash to the Democratic Party of Georgia’s coordinated campaign efforts.
Reynolds, who will succeed Brad Raffensperger, emphasized voting access during her victory remarks, stating, “When you think about all that we have been going through as it relates to the right to vote, I said over a year ago that a vote should be a right and not a fight.” Miller, a former federal prosecutor, has identified combating violent crime, human trafficking, gangs, and consumer fraud as her primary priorities.
County-by-county data from the election revealed significant shifts in suburban battlegrounds across metro Atlanta, as well as changes in conservative strongholds in north and south Georgia. The election saw a high volume of early and Election Day ballots, with more than 3.3 million votes cast in the governor’s race alone. The victory for Bottoms and the other female candidates ends a multi-decade streak of Republican dominance in Georgia’s top state offices.
