Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has won Georgia’s race for governor, NBC News projects, defeating Republican Rick Jackson and flipping control of the battleground state office for the first time in 24 years.
\n\nBottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta and a former Biden administration official, overcame an enormous spending disadvantage against Jackson, a wealthy healthcare executive who pumped more than $100 million of his own money into his campaign.
\n\nBottoms is the first woman and the first Black person to be elected governor of Georgia. She is also the first female Black governor in the country’s history.
\n\nLike many Democrats across the country, Bottoms leaned heavily into a message focusing on affordability and economic issues. Down the late fall stretch, she also ran ads that hit Jackson over previous comments supporting the construction of data centers and linked Jackson to President Donald Trump, who faced low approval ratings in the state.
\n\nFollow live updates on the midterm elections
\n\nThroughout a contentious Republican primary this spring, Jackson had frequently compared himself to Trump, allowing Bottoms to use much of his own words against him during the general election.
\n\nDuring their sole general election debate last month, Bottoms slammed Jackson for having “said…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business