Bottoms wins Georgia governor's race as McLaurin takes lt. gov.

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to become Georgia's next governor, according to AP's live midterm coverage. The Associated Press declared Bottoms the winner at 9:24 p.m. EST.

Closer to home, state Sen. Josh McLaurin won the lieutenant governor's race. McLaurin, a Sandy Springs attorney, represents a state Senate district that includes portions of Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs, according to WABE. His Republican challenger, Greg Dolezal, conceded, Atlanta News First reported.

McLaurin will preside over a state Senate likely controlled by Republicans, according to Atlanta News First. Georgia's lieutenant governor assigns bills to committees and controls the legislative calendar, giving the office significant influence over which legislation advances.

Governor's race results

Unofficial results from the Georgia Secretary of State, last updated at 4:19 a.m. EST on Nov. 4, showed Bottoms with 2,268,462 votes, or 54.3%, to Jackson's 1,908,261 votes, or 45.7%. All 159 reporting units had reported. Bottoms led by 360,201 votes, a margin of 8.6 percentage points.

AP reported that Bottoms is the first former Atlanta mayor elected Georgia governor, the first Democrat to win the office since 1998 and the first Black woman elected governor of any U.S. state. She replaces Gov. Brian Kemp, who has served since 2019 and is term-limited.

Bottoms addressed supporters after the AP call. "No matter who you voted for tonight, I will be a governor for all of Georgia," Bottoms said, according to AP's live coverage. "Georgia, we sent a message loud and clear that we want a leader who will put Georgia first and who will stand up to all the chaos coming out of Washington, DC."

Jackson conceded the race, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. "Tonight the voters spoke. And I respect their decision," Jackson said in his concession speech, as reported by Fox 5 Atlanta.

What was on the ballot

Bottoms, 56, served one term as Atlanta's 60th mayor from 2018 to 2022 and later worked as a senior adviser in the Biden administration, according to WABE. She took more than 56% of the vote in the May Democratic primary. Former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden endorsed her.

Jackson, 72, is the founder of Jackson Healthcare. He says he grew up in Georgia's foster care system and built a path to business ownership after he could not afford college. He spent more than $200 million of his own money on the campaign, according to Fox 5 Atlanta. Jackson faced Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a June Republican runoff before the general election, according to WABE. Kemp and President Donald Trump endorsed Jackson.

On taxes and affordability, Bottoms proposed a property tax relief package, a gas tax cut and letting local governments waive sales taxes on groceries. Jackson proposed cutting the state income tax in half along with property and sales tax reductions. On healthcare, Bottoms called for federal Medicaid expansion. Jackson spoke of "intelligent" Medicaid expansion but offered few specifics, according to WABE.

In the Georgia U.S. Senate race, AP declared Democrat Jon Ossoff the winner over Republican Mike Collins at 7:55 p.m. EST.