Former Atlanta mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) is getting ready to launch a campaign for governor in Georgia in 2026. The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Bottoms previously was a city council member and worked for three years as a senior adviser in the White House during the Biden administration. She maintained a close friendship with former Vice President Kamala Harris throughout the 2024 presidential election.
The news about Bottoms’ candidacy comes shortly after Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) declared her intention to halt an exploratory bid for governor to support her husband’s ongoing battle with cancer.
Since Trump’s return to Washington, Bottoms has committed to progressive policies, launching Georgia PROMIST PAC. She has backed her campaign and assembled a team of staff to take leadership roles in the state ahead of her formal announcement.
“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught me that there is ‘the intense urgency right now,'” Bottoms stated to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. “For the citizens of Georgia, this means having leaders who do not recklessly pursue moral and economic pitfalls, but instead prioritize the urgent needs of our communities.”
Bottoms will compete against state attorney general Chris Carr (R), who is in the race to succeed Governor Brian Kemp (R-Ga.), who is term-limited as of November 2026.
Other potential contenders for the governor’s seat in Peach State include Republican Lt. Colonel Burt Jones, state Sen. Jason Estevez (D), former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jason Carter.
“I served as mayor during Trump’s presidency, and facing the pandemic in 2020 along with the unrest in the summer of that year was an everyday struggle. Donald Trump’s actions significantly contributed to much of the turmoil we faced in the city.” I expressed this during the rally for Harris in October.
Throughout 2020, Bottoms frequently disagreed with Kemp over Covid-19 protocols amid protests against police brutality in communities of color.
Kemp filed a lawsuit against her. To impose a mask mandate in Atlanta, I sought an emergency injunction to prevent him from speaking to the press about the restrictions.
