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Cobb County, GA ballot

Keisha Lance Bottoms

Democrat

Governor · Cobb County, Georgia · November 3, 2026

Also on the ballot: Rick Jackson (Republican)

Keisha Lance Bottoms is the former Atlanta mayor (2018-2022) and later a senior adviser to President Biden who won the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nomination outright, avoiding a runoff. She campaigns on expanding Medicaid, repealing Georgia's abortion ban, fully funding public schools, and grocery-tax relief, while facing scrutiny over past ethics fines from her mayoral tenure.

What this office decides

The Governor proposes the state budget, signs or vetoes legislation passed by the General Assembly, and appoints agency heads and judicial vacancies. The office directs state agencies covering health, education, public safety, and economic development, and commands the state National Guard. Decisions affect state taxes, Medicaid policy, and criminal justice across Georgia.

How this race lines up with you

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Dossier

Researched 2026-09-22 · Claude Code research agent with web search

Donald Trump: opposed. Bottoms launched her campaign with a video sharply criticizing Trump, calling him a disaster and pledging to fight 'the chaos of Trump 2.0'; separately, Trump endorsed her general-election opponent Rick Jackson on July 22, 2026. source

  • EMILY's List (for) source
  • American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) (for) source
  • IAM Union's Georgia State Council of Machinists (for) source

Who they are

Keisha Lance Bottoms was Mayor of Atlanta (2018-2022), later a senior adviser in the Biden White House (NBC News). She won the Democratic nomination outright in May 2026, avoiding a runoff (AJC).

Positions

  • Taxes & spending: Would let localities suspend/eliminate the sales tax on groceries and end the state income tax for teachers (Keisha for Governor).
  • Health care: Would "expand Medicaid, ending the failed Georgia Pathways program," plus an Rx Savings Board (Keisha for Governor).
  • Schools: Pledges to fully fund schools, raise starting teacher pay to $60,000, and create free technical/community-college pathways (MDJ).
  • Personal freedom: Campaigns to "restore a woman's right to choose" and repeal Georgia's abortion ban, citing maternal-mortality harms (AJC).
  • Crime & policing: Combines "enforcement and prevention": police support plus background checks, a red-flag law, and reentry via a "Prison to Work" initiative (Branch).
  • Business & regulation: Would restructure economic-development agencies, add an Office of Small Business, and "crack down on corporate landlords" (Branch).

Record

As mayor she paid a $37,000 ethics fine over campaign-finance violations and drew criticism over a city credit card charge for her husband's Super Bowl travel and ties to a contractor later awarded city business (Fox News). She unveiled an ethics platform requiring candidates to divest from state contractors, Aug. 2026 (GPB).

Money

Raised $3.1M May-July 2026 ($5.7M total); ~$770,000 cash on hand end of July, plus a $200,000 loan (Rough Draft Atlanta); tracked via ethics.ga.gov.

Recent news

  • 2026-09-20: Promised grocery-tax relief and $60,000 starting teacher pay in Cobb County (MDJ).
  • 2026-09-21: Trailing Jackson by 3 points, 7% undecided, per polling (theGrio).

What we couldn't find

  • Ballotpedia page would not load; no fundraising data after July 31; no Trump statement naming her directly.
Sources (14)