Georgia made history on Tuesday night as Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Florida A&M alumna, became the first Black woman elected governor of a United States state.
NBC News projected Tuesday night that Bottoms, a Democrat and former mayor of Atlanta, defeated Republican billionaire Rick Jackson in Georgia’s gubernatorial election.
The victory makes Bottoms the first woman elected governor of Georgia and the first Black person elected to lead the state. It also ends more than two decades of Republican control of the governor’s office.
For Florida A&M University, the election represents another historic achievement by one of its graduates, placing an HBCU alumna in a position no Black woman has previously held in American history.
From Florida A&M to the governor’s mansion
Keisha Lance Bottoms graduated from Florida A&M University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the university’s School of Journalism and Graphic Communication.
She later earned her law degree from Georgia State University College of Law, beginning a legal and political career that would eventually take her to Atlanta City Hall and the White House.
Before becoming mayor, Bottoms served as a judge and member of the Atlanta City Council.
She was elected Atlanta’s mayor in 2017, taking office in January 2018. Her administration navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide demonstrations over racial justice.
Following her tenure as mayor, Bottoms joined President Joe Biden’s administration as a senior adviser and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
Keisha Lance Bottoms election major in Georgia
Bottoms’ victory came despite a significant financial disadvantage against Jackson, a healthcare executive who invested more than $100 million of his personal fortune in the campaign.
The election also marks a political shift in Georgia, where Republicans have controlled the governor’s office since 2003.
Bottoms campaigned on expanding Medicaid, increasing the minimum wage and improving economic opportunities for working families.
Her victory adds another chapter to the political legacy of historically Black colleges and universities.
A graduate of Florida A&M’s journalism program has now reached the highest executive office in Georgia, breaking a racial and gender barrier that had stood throughout American history.
For the Rattler community, Bottoms’ election places Florida A&M University at the center of a historic moment in American politics.