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

• Keisha Lance Bottoms wins Georgia’s governor race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of a US state

• Her victory delivers the Democrats’ first gubernatorial pickup of the 2026 midterm elections

• Democrats also retain Georgia’s Senate seat as Jon Ossoff wins re-election, while control of Congress remains undecided

Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor race, becoming the first Black woman elected governor of any US state and delivering a significant victory for her party in the 2026 midterm elections.

Her win marked the first governorship to change party hands on election night, giving Democrats an early gain as voters across the country decided the balance of power in Congress and state governments.

At Bottoms’ election night gathering, supporters celebrated a result that carried both political and historic significance.

Conqula Milner, a 54-year-old veteran who works at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Atlanta, said she felt grateful and emotional about Georgia electing its first woman governor. She had expected Bottoms to win, she said, but had anticipated a closer contest.

Milner also expressed hope that the incoming governor would improve support for veterans.

Paula Sanders, a 69-year-old retired school counsellor, said Bottoms’ plans to improve life for Georgians had persuaded her to back the Democrat. As supporters danced and waited for the governor-elect to address them, Sanders described the result as a moment of pride for the state.

Bottoms’ victory came alongside another important Democratic success in Georgia, where Senator Jon Ossoff secured re-election in one of the country’s most closely watched Senate contests.

Addressing supporters in Atlanta, Ossoff cast the results as a rejection of President Donald Trump’s leadership. He accused the administration of serving wealthy interests while families faced rising household bills, but also urged an effort to heal political divisions.

The Georgia results emerged against a national backdrop of concern about living costs. According to the AP Voter Poll, affordability weighed heavily on voters, with most appearing to blame the Trump administration and favour stronger congressional checks on the president.

Democrats also gained a Senate seat in North Carolina, where Roy Cooper won. Following that result, the party needed a net gain of three more seats to take control of the chamber.

In the House of Representatives, Democrats had flipped three Republican-held seats. Those gains would be sufficient for a majority if the party retained all its existing districts, although Republicans were expected to capture some Democratic seats following changes to congressional boundaries.

Georgia’s historic result was accompanied by another milestone in neighbouring Florida, where Republican Byron Donalds became the state’s first Black governor. Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman, and thanked Trump for supporting his campaign.

With counting continuing in key contests, control of Congress remained unresolved. Bottoms’ victory, however, had already secured Georgia a place in American electoral history.

With PTI inputs