Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history after winning Georgia’s gubernatorial election, becoming the first Black woman elected governor in the United States.

The former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson on Tuesday, handing Democrats control of the politically competitive state for the first time since 1998, according to the Associated Press.

Bottoms’ victory came despite a significant financial gap between the two campaigns. She focused her campaign on addressing economic challenges and opposing policies of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Speaking at her victory celebration in Atlanta, where supporters chanted her name, Bottoms pledged to represent all residents of Georgia, regardless of their political affiliations.

“No matter who you voted for tonight, I will be a governor for all of Georgia,” she said, adding that voters had sent a message in support of leadership that would put the state first.

Her victory also highlights the growing political influence of the Atlanta metropolitan area, whose expanding population has increasingly shaped election outcomes in Georgia.

Bottoms will succeed Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who was barred by state law from seeking a third term. Her election follows two previous gubernatorial contests in which Kemp defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2018 and 2022.

Reacting to his defeat, Jackson acknowledged the outcome, telling supporters, “Tonight, the voters spoke, and I respect their decision.”

Meanwhile, Georgia re-elected Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who will continue serving alongside Raphael Warnock, the state’s first Black senator.

Bottoms was among eight Black candidates nominated by major political parties for governorships across the United States in Tuesday’s elections. Before her victory, only three Black Americans, all men, had been elected governors in the country’s history.