ATLANTA—Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated healthcare billionaire and political outsider Rick Jackson in Georgia’s gubernatorial race.
Bottoms’s victory ended a more than two-decade streak of Republican governorships.
Jackson had raised more than $230 million, including $210 million from himself, and spent about $213 million on his campaign. Bottoms raised about $13.3 million and spent $11.4 million.
Jackson ran on the fact that he is a political outsider—not a career politician.
He vowed to enact term limits for public-office holders, audit every government program for effectiveness, and raise expectations in schools.
Jackson made his fortune from healthcare, and he campaigned on transforming it. He mentioned frequently his desire to empower parents and protect children, while ensuring biological boys are blocked from girl’s sports, bathrooms, and locker rooms. More broadly, Jackson has said he would end “woke” ideology in the state. …