Keisha Lance Bottoms makes history as first Black woman elected US governor

Bottoms, who formerly advised ex-President Joe Biden, beat Republican Rick Jackson.

Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks at an election night event in Atlanta [Brynn Anderson/AP Photo]

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history as the first Black woman elected governor of a US state, according to Associated Press news agency projections.

The former Atlanta mayor emerged victorious in Georgia over her billionaire opponent, Republican Rick Jackson, who spent more than $200m of his personal fortune in an attempt to succeed the popular outgoing Republican governor, Brian Kemp.

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Bottoms, a former adviser to US President Joe Biden, was propelled to victory in part by the state’s significant Black voting bloc, which turned out in large numbers during early voting.

During the campaign, she faced Republican attempts to characterise her time as mayor as a crime-ridden decline for the state’s largest city.

“It’s a longstanding playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place,” Bottoms told the Associated Press news agency.

Bottoms’ win marks the third consecutive time that Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for governor. Stacey Abrams lost in 2018 and 2022 to Kemp, who is leaving office in January after eight years due to term limits.

曾担任前总统乔·拜登顾问的博特姆斯击败了共和党候选人里克·杰克逊。

佐治亚州民主党州长候选人凯莎·兰斯·博顿斯在亚特兰大举行的选举之夜活动上发表讲话 [布林·安德森/美联社照片]

据美联社新闻机构预测，民主党人凯莎·兰斯·博顿斯创造了历史，成为美国历史上第一位当选州长的黑人女性。

这位前亚特兰大市长在佐治亚州击败了她的亿万富翁对手、共和党人里克·杰克逊，后者花费了超过 2 亿美元的个人财富，试图接替广受欢迎的即将卸任的共和党州长布莱恩·坎普。

佐治亚州参议院三位候选人之一在中期选举前进行最后拉票

（共3条，第2条）随着生活成本飙升，美国中期选举耗资创纪录的120亿美元

3/3 乔恩·奥索夫赢得佐治亚州参议员选举，击败共和党候选人迈克·柯林斯

曾担任美国总统乔·拜登顾问的博特姆斯之所以能够获胜，部分原因是该州庞大的黑人选民群体在提前投票期间踊跃投票。

在竞选期间，她面临着共和党人的攻击，他们试图将她担任市长期间描绘成该州最大城市犯罪猖獗、走向衰落的时期。

“长期以来，人们一直试图把亚特兰大描绘成一个可怕的地方，”博特姆斯告诉美联社。

博特姆斯胜选标志着佐治亚州民主党连续第三次提名黑人女性竞选州长。斯泰西·艾布拉姆斯在2018年和2022年的选举中均败给了坎普，坎普将于明年1月因任期限制卸任，结束其八年的州长生涯。