Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms sums up Trump's Tulsa rally in one perfect word
NBC is calling the Georgia governor's race for Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms.
The race has become a genuine toss-up between Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, and Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive and first-time candidate. The race has been very close as Election Day neared.
The Georgia U.S. Senate race was expected to stay Democratic, and the GOP pulled out of that race more than a month before the election. It meant that the only national funding coming in for Republicans was for a few select races, but one of them was the governor's race and it was disproportionately significant in favor of Republicans.
AdImpact data showed pro-Jackson advertising at $271.5 million, versus $32.8 million for pro-Bottoms advertising. That's a Republican advantage of roughly 8-to-1. Given Jackson's billions, he was able to dump a lot of money into his campaign.
Despite the spending gap, Jackson never pulled far ahead. Late polls showed the race essentially tied. Bottoms did score a late infusion of national Democratic money that helped her compete on the airwaves.
Bottoms has a chance to make history by becoming Georgia’s first Black woman governor and giving Democrats control of a major Southern battleground. If Jackson wins, Republicans would hold the governorship for another term and preserve a key 2028 presidential battleground for the GOP.
Late October polls had Bottoms at 50 percent and Jackson at 47 percent; another had Bottoms 49 percent, Jackson 48 percent; the Atlanta Journal-Constitution/University of Georgia poll had Jackson 46 percent, Bottoms 45 percent. All of them showed it within the margin of error of the polls, making it too close to call.
The contest reflects Georgia’s significant shift in political geography. While Republicans remain strong statewide, Democrats have become increasingly competitive, especially with strong turnout in metro Atlanta.
As with all of the close races, turnout is the name of the game. Bottoms needs to maximize Black voter turnout, run up her margins in Atlanta and its suburbs, and hold enough of the voters who support Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Split-ticket voting could be decisive because Ossoff has led more clearly in his Senate race.
Georgia had about 2.8 million pre-Election Day votes, and officials expected roughly 1.3 million more ballots to be cast on Election Day.
CNN reported that Georgia Republicans were “increasingly worried” as turnout numbers came in, suggesting the early-vote coalition may have been stronger for Democrats than Republicans expected.