Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and a senior advisor in the Biden administration, has announced she is running for governor of Georgia. She has framed her campaign as a direct response to President Donald Trump winning reelection in 2024. Bottoms joining the Democratic primary brings a lot of attention to the race, which will be an important measure of the political mood in this key swing state before the 2026 presidential election.
According to The Hill, Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and dealt with major challenges, including a large cyberattack, the fallout from the police shooting of Rayshard Brooks, and the COVID-19 pandemic. After choosing not to run for a second term as mayor, a decision that surprised many in the Democratic Party, she joined the Biden administration in 2022 as a senior advisor, leading the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Before that, she served on the President’s Export Council, a position she says she left before President Trump took office, contradicting Trump’s claim that he fired her. This past experience, along with her clashes with Trump while she was mayor, highlights how personal her opposition to the former president is.
Newest Georgia candidate was under Biden
Her campaign for governor focuses on several major policy goals. She wants to support small business growth in the state, fix the teacher shortage by ending state income taxes for educators, and expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, pointing out that Georgia is behind neighboring states when it comes to healthcare access.
The Democratic primary is likely to be a tough race. Bottoms starts with strong name recognition in Georgia, especially in the Atlanta area, but she will need to build support across the rest of the state. She is running against candidates like state Senator Jason Esteves and pastor Olu Brown. While Representative Lucy McBath paused her exploratory campaign because of her husband’s illness, she has not said no to running in the future.
Bottoms will also have to address concerns about her decision not to seek a second term as mayor, which initially made some question her dedication to public service. The Republican primary is just as competitive. Attorney General Chris Carr started his campaign in 2024. Other possible candidates include Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, both seen as part of the more conservative side of the Republican Party.
Biden currently isn’t doing so well since his cancer diagnosis. However, it is unclear what role Bottoms would have had if Biden stayed in the race, and if he used a wheelchair.
The result of the Republican primary will heavily influence the general election and could shape where the final candidates stand on key issues. Georgia’s changing political landscape, shown by Biden’s win in 2020 and Trump’s victory in 2024, proves it is a crucial swing state. The governor’s race will give important clues about the political climate before the 2026 presidential election.
If Bottoms wins, it would be historic, making her Georgia’s first Black governor. Her campaign, driven by strong opposition to Trump and a focus on major policy issues, puts her in a strong position in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive and closely watched race.
