2 min readNov 4, 2026 11:28 AM ISTGeorgia's new Governor Keisha Lance BottomsDemocrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s gubernatorial election in the US on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman elected Governor of a US state. The former Atlanta Mayor defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson in one of the country’s most closely contested political battlegrounds. Her victory ends more than two decades of Republican control of the Governor’s office and makes her Georgia’s first woman Governor.Bottoms, 56, will take over from Republican Brian Kemp, who is stepping down after two consecutive terms. She previously worked in former President Joe Biden’s administration as a senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, reported Reuters.Her election marks a key milestone for Black women, Gowho have been a key Democratic constituency while remaining underrepresented in the country’s highest elected offices.Tuesday also brought a historic result in the US Virgin Islands, where Stacey Plaskett became the first Black woman elected Governor of a US jurisdiction. The islands are a US territory.In Florida, Republican US Representative Byron Donalds won the Governor’s race, becoming the first Black Republican elected Governor in the United States. Byron Donalds has become the first Black Governor of Florida in the state’s 180-year history.Jackson, the Republican rival of Bottoms, is the billionaire founder of healthcare staffing firm Jackson Healthcare. He ran as a political outsider, with a campaign focused on cutting taxes, strengthening public safety and easing government regulation.The Georgia result comes eight years after Stacey Abrams became the first Black woman nominated for Governor by a major US political party.Story continues below this adAbrams lost her bids for the Georgia governorship in 2018 and 2022. Her campaigns, however, helped expand a coalition spanning generations and racial groups, increasing Democratic turnout. That coalition helped send two Democrats to the US Senate and secure Georgia’s electoral votes for a Democratic presidential candidate for the first time in decades.© IE Online Media Services Pvt LtdThe Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-dri... Read MoreStay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on InstagramTags:US midtermsAdvertisementLoading Recommendations...AdvertisementAdvertisement