Keisha Lance Bottoms
Candidate, Governor (GA) · Democratic · Georgia
Keisha Lance Bottoms is the 2026 Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia and the former Mayor of Atlanta; if elected she would be the state’s first Black and first female governor.
Profile last updated Jul 9, 2026 · Center Field Politics
Scout's Report
A former Atlanta mayor and Biden White House advisor running to become Georgia’s first Democratic governor in a generation.
Core Strength
Executive experience leading a major city through the pandemic, with strong name recognition.
Core Weakness
Ran statewide as a Democrat in a Republican-leaning state; her Atlanta tenure draws crime and management criticism.
Recent Action
Won the 2026 Democratic gubernatorial primary outright with about 56% of the vote.
Key Metrics
- Reliability
- 94%
- Documented Controversies
- 0
- Funding Secured
- $180M
- Outside Influence
- Low
Roll-call or session participation — did they show up?
Official ethics findings or court records only.
Municipal budget and appropriations impact from her mayoral tenure (absolute).
Derived from PAC and outside-spending share of campaign funding.
Where They Stand
Stances on the issues many voters care most about. Where a candidate has not given a clear answer we mark it "Mixed / Partial" or "Unclear" rather than guess. Positions are drawn from official records and bias-labeled news sources; they are descriptive only and are never scored.
Environment—Supports3
Climate protections and regulation versus fewer climate-related regulations on industry.
Backs clean-energy investment and climate resilience.
Healthcare—Supports3
Expanding healthcare coverage for all versus expanding market-based, private insurance.
Campaigns on expanding Medicaid and bolstering rural hospitals.
Second Amendment—Supports4
New firearm regulations versus no new firearm regulations.
Supports expanded background checks and other gun-safety measures.
Immigration—Supports4
Pathways to citizenship versus a closed-border approach.
Supports a path to citizenship and opposes hardline enforcement-only policies.
Roe v. Wade—Supports3
Protecting access to abortion versus restricting access to abortion.
Supports abortion-rights protections and opposes Georgia’s six-week ban.
National Security—Unclear4
Whether diplomacy or military strength should be the primary national-security priority.
No prominent, consistent public position on Iran policy is documented in the current snapshot.
Campaign Funding
The 2026 Democratic gubernatorial nominee files with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, not the FEC. Reported roughly $4M raised for the general election, a fraction of the resources fueling her self-funding opponent. Raised $4.0M for the 2026 cycle (Jun 2026 filing), filed with Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission.
Total raised (cycle 2026): $4,000,000 · Outside influence: Low
Party Loyalty
Her municipal and executive roles did not produce a partisan roll-call voting record, so a party-unity score is not measurable for this profile.