State Watch

Bottoms clinches Democratic nomination in Georgia governor’s race

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by Caroline Vakil - 05/19/26 11:08 PM ET

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by Caroline Vakil - 05/19/26 11:08 PM ET

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Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is projected to win the Democratic primary for Georgia governor, according to Decision Desk HQ.

Bottoms avoided a June primary runoff and beat a crowded field of Democratic candidates, including former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican-turned-Democrat, and former state Sen. Jason Esteves, among others.

The Georgia gubernatorial race is seen as a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats, though voters haven’t elected a Democrat as the state’s top executive since 1998. Cook Political Report rates the race as a “toss up.”

Recent polling consistently showed Bottoms leading the Democratic field, with Thurmond as a likely second place finisher in the contest. Duncan and Esteves were also possible runner-ups in the race, polling suggested.

Bottoms is projected to win more than 50 percent of the primary vote — the threshhold to avoid the June 16 runoff. This fall, she will take on billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger or state Attorney General Chris Carr, who are jockeying for two spots in an expected June runoff.

The presumptive Democratic nominee, who served as a senior adviser in the Biden administration, notably received the former president’s endorsement in the race.

On the trail, she honed in on issues like expanding Medicaid and strengthening voting rights.

“I’ve worn many professional hats: senior adviser to the president, mayor, city council member and judge,” Bottoms said at a Democratic gubernatorial debate last month. “But the most important title that I will ever have is as mother, and I think about the state that I want my children to be able to call home.”

Bottoms drew both praise and pushback during her one term as Atlanta mayor.

She received national attention after she held a press conference during the 2020 protests in response to the killing of George Floyd. She criticized protesters for the “chaos” and vandalism in the city, while also drawing on her own experience as a Black mother with four children processing the news of Floyd’s murder.

However, she was criticized over rising crime in the city during the pandemic — a phenomenon that other cities also grappled with throughout the health emergency — and the firing of a police officer who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks, a Black man.

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