Wire reporting: (AP, via CityNews Toronto)

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, was projected the winner of Georgia's governor's race on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, over Republican Rick Jackson, a healthcare executive, according to calls reported by the Associated Press and NBC News^1,4,7.

If certified, the result would make Bottoms the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state and Georgia's first Black governor and first woman governor^3,4,5.

Atlanta News First reported she would become Georgia's 84th governor and the first Black woman elected to any statewide constitutional office in Georgia³.

Outlets also described the win as ending a long Republican hold on the governor's office after term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp^1,3,5. They differed on how to date the last Democratic victory: the AP, carried by CityNews Toronto, said Bottoms would be the first Democrat to win the office since 1998, while Atlanta News First said she would be the first Democrat elected governor since Roy Barnes lost to Sonny Perdue in 2002^3,4. NPR described it as the first Democratic governor elected in more than 20 years¹.

Jackson, founder of a large healthcare staffing firm, entered the Republican primary in February and defeated Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a June runoff, Atlanta News First reported³. Reports differed on how much of his own money he spent: The Guardian cited more than $100 million; Al Jazeera cited more than $200 million^2,5.

Bottoms served on the Atlanta City Council, was mayor from 2018 to 2022, and later worked in the Biden administration, including as director of public engagement, according to Atlanta News First^3,5. She did not seek a second mayoral term^1,3.

Republicans used her mayoral years against her, tying her to crime and unrest in Atlanta, including the 2020 killing of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner, Atlanta News First and Al Jazeera reported^3,5. NPR said Jackson's ads claimed she left office after crime rose during the pandemic¹.

Bottoms' campaign issues included expanding Medicaid, housing costs and school funding, Atlanta News First said³. NPR reported she also backed a pause on new data centers and proposed letting cities drop the grocery sales tax and ending the state income tax for public-school teachers¹.

The Guardian said Jackson had been favored until late campaigning with former President Barack Obama and Sen. Jon Ossoff². NPR said Bottoms was also endorsed by former President Joe Biden and that Jackson, after a Trump primary endorsement, later distanced himself from President Trump and allied with Kemp¹.

Al Jazeera said this was the third consecutive Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nomination of a Black woman, after Stacey Abrams lost to Kemp in 2018 and 2022^5,3. NPR said Bottoms would likely face a Republican majority in at least one legislative chamber¹.