Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia race, becomes first Black woman elected governor of US state

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the 56-year-old former mayor of Atlanta, is projected to win the race for governor of Georgia. Newsweek reports that her victory makes her the first Black woman elected governor in the United States. The win flips the office to Democratic control after it had been held by Republicans for more than two decades.

According to Newsweek, with 72 percent of the votes counted, Republican candidate Rick Jackson had 56 percent of the vote while Bottoms had 44 percent. The Hill reports that Bottoms led Jackson by approximately 11 points with 71 percent of the reporting completed. Jackson is a 72-year-old billionaire healthcare executive and first-time candidate who largely self-funded his campaign.

In other Georgia races, Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff won reelection, defeating Republican US representative Mike Collins. Free Malaysia Today notes that Ossoff won one of the nation's most competitive Senate races, preserving a seat in the party's battle for Senate control. Haaretz adds that Ossoff became Georgia’s first Jewish senator in January 2021.

Brief written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia, Newsweek, The Hill, Free Malaysia Today, Haaretz — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.