Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms officially entered the race for governor on Tuesday morning, joining what’s expected to be a crowded field of candidates vying to replace Brian Kemp as Georgia’s next top executive.
In a wide-ranging interview with Capital B Atlanta on Tuesday, Bottoms explained her decision to run for governor, her plans to take on Trump’s DEI ban and ICE raids, abortion rights, and what she’s prepared to do in order to reenergize Black voters to send her to the Gold Dome.
Taking aim directly at Trump, the Bottoms campaign launched a video outlining her plans to expand Medicaid, end state income tax for teachers, target corporate landlords, and increase support for small businesses.
“This is a defining moment for Georgia and for our country,” Bottoms said in the video, which features an homage to her late grandmother and her five-generation lineage that hails back to a Georgia plantation. “With chaos in Washington, Georgians need a leader who will stand up for them. I’m running for governor to fight for Georgia families and deliver the leadership they deserve.”
Bottoms, 55, would become just the second Black woman in state history to run for governor on a major party ticket if she wins her party’s nomination next year. Stacey Abrams became the first in 2018 when she launched her first of two historic bids. Abrams has expressed interest in a third try next year, but so far hasn’t made it official.
The campaign team originally filed paperwork in late April declaring Bottoms intention to run for governor. Fellow Democrat Jason Esteves, a state senator representing Atlanta, and Republican Attorney General Chris Carr are the only other officially declared candidates in the 2026 gubernatorial race so far. Carr threw his hat in the race in late November. Esteves entered the contest on April 21.
Other prominent Georgians who have expressed an interest in running for governor, but have not made an official declaration, include Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, both Republicans, and former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond and state Rep. Derrick Jackson, from Tyrone, who are both Democrats.
A former prosecutor who served as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 after previously spending eight years on the Atlanta City Council, Bottoms also logged two years as a Fulton County Superior Court judge.
She was the first Atlanta mayor to have served in all three branches of government. During the 2020 election, Bottoms’ name was mentioned as a potential running mate for Biden. Her most-recent political role was in the White House where she served as director of the Office of Public Engagement and as a senior adviser to former President Joe Biden from 2022 to 2023.
Bottoms is the daughter of 1960s blues singer Major Lance and Christine Boular Lance. She’s a Frederick Douglass High School graduate who received her undergraduate degree from Florida A&M University and earned her law degree from Georgia State University.
Bottoms has four children with her husband, Derek Bottoms.
“November was a turning point for me.” Bottoms said in a telephone interview on the morning of her gubernatorial announcement. “Like so many people, I woke up after the election wondering what could I do in this moment.”
