Keisha Lance Bottoms says Georgia voters care more about costs than “MAGA agenda”

Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta and Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, speaks during an election night event in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. | CBS

Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms captured the Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary with 56% of the vote on Tuesday, surpassing the majority threshold needed to avoid a runoff and positioning herself as the Democratic nominee heading into the November general election.

“We have a very powerful campaign that’s ready to take on whoever comes out of this Republican primary in November,” Bottoms said in an interview with CBS News “The Takeout” following her victory.

Bottoms said the margin was no accident. Her campaign ran as if it were trailing throughout the race, and she said she believed internally they would clear 50%.

“We always said that we were going to run like we were 30 points down and not 30 points ahead,” she said.

On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and businessman Rick Jackson are headed to a June 16 runoff after neither cleared the majority threshold in Tuesday’s primary. Bottoms did not draw much of a distinction between the two.

“Just in terms of their running toward Trump’s MAGA agenda, they’re equally awful in that regard,” she said. “That’s not what the people of this state want to hear. They want to hear how we are going to address these everyday issues that are impacting their lives: cost of living, access or lack thereof to healthcare, education, access to jobs.”

If elected in November, Bottoms would make history as the first African American woman ever elected governor of Georgia and, she believes, the first in the entire country. She said the historical significance of that milestone is not what is driving her campaign.

“I don’t go around thinking about the label of being a Black woman,” she said. “What I’m thinking about right now is just how I’m going to deliver for the people across the state. It’s just about how will you make my life better and why should I vote for you.”

Bottoms also noted that the governor’s race is an open seat; Gov. Brian Kemp is not on the ballot, which she said gives Democrats an advantage heading into November.

“There are some inherent challenges when you go against an incumbent,” she said. “The fact that it’s an open seat gives us an even better opportunity to pick up the seat.”

On policy, Bottoms outlined several priorities she said she would pursue on day one as governor. She said she would extend the current gas tax suspension to provide relief at the pump, and pledged to expand Medicaid, a move she said would reverse the closure of nine rural hospitals and stop Georgia from leaving federal dollars on the table.

“Half our counties don’t even have OB-GYNs and pediatricians,” she said. “People are having to travel sometimes upwards of an hour or more to receive specialized care.”

Bottoms also called for increasing the state’s average starting teacher pay from $43,000 to $60,000 a year and eliminating state income taxes for teachers. On housing, she pledged to work with builders who specialize in affordable and workforce housing through low-interest loans and grants for homeowners.