Keisha Lance Bottoms
Democratic nomineeAttorney and former 60th Mayor of Atlanta (2018–2022), the daughter of R&B singer Major Lance. A Florida A&M and Georgia State Law graduate, she later served as a senior advisor to President Biden. She won the 2026 Democratic primary outright with about 57% of the vote.
Previously held
- Mayor of Atlanta (2018–2022)
- Atlanta City Council, District 11 (2010–2018)
- Atlanta magistrate judge
- Senior Advisor to President Biden — White House Office of Public Engagement (2022–2023)
Top contributors
A small-dollar, grassroots profile — her campaign reports roughly 7,100 donors with about 92% giving under $100, supplemented by some personal funds, with no dominant large-donor or industry-PAC list. Endorsed by Georgia Equality. See the current GA Ethics total below.
- $40,009.00Walker, Justin (Atlanta, GA)
- $26,400.00Cox, Richard (Marietta, GA)
- $26,400.00Perry, Tyler (Atlanta, GA)
- $26,400.00Ramsey, Simon (Stone Mountain, GA)
- $26,400.00Bekele, Gelila (New York, NY)
- $26,400.00Cox, Gregia (Marietta, GA)
- $26,000.00Meezy Entertainment LLC (Mcdonough, GA)
$2,936,971 raised · $436,359 cash on hand — as of Jun 4, 2026 (GA Ethics latest filing).
Source: Atlanta News First — $1M+ haul · Transparency USA (GA filings)Where they stand
Pro–public education. Her plan would raise average starting teacher pay from $43,000 to $60,000, exempt teachers from state income tax, expand the state's pre-K program, and make technical and community college free.
Source: AJC — where Bottoms stands · CBS AtlantaSupports expanding Medicaid — she says full expansion would cover roughly 300,000 Georgians and help keep rural hospitals open — and would also work to lower premiums and create a prescription-drug affordability board.
Source: CBS Atlanta · AJC — where Bottoms standsHas built her economic message around affordability and wages — cracking down on corporate landlords and lowering household costs — but has not put forward a specific minimum-wage figure; Georgia's floor remains the federal $7.25.
Source: Issues — Keisha for Governor · Georgia Dept. of Labor — minimum wageApproaches it through housing supply and affordability: a “Georgia Housing Fast Track” to speed permitting, an affordable-housing trust fund, down-payment and renter assistance, and curbs on corporate landlords — and she names veteran homelessness as a state priority.
Source: Issues — Keisha for GovernorA signature plank — she pledges to make Georgia “the best state in the country for veterans and military families,” translating military experience into civilian credentials, fast-tracking veteran hiring into state jobs, offering tax relief for veterans and military retirees, and treating veteran housing, mental health, and suicide prevention as priorities.
Source: Issues — Keisha for GovernorHas not laid out a detailed immigration platform; she has run broadly against the Trump/MAGA agenda rather than on enforcement, keeping the focus on affordability, health care, and abortion rights.
Source: Capital B News · BallotpediaSupports gun-safety measures. As Atlanta mayor she joined a bipartisan coalition of mayors pressing Congress to enact “commonsense gun safety legislation.”
Source: City of Atlanta — mayors' gun-safety letter · OnTheIssues — BottomsSupports abortion rights and opposes Georgia's six-week ban; she has spotlighted ProPublica reporting linking the ban to a preventable maternal death in Georgia.
Source: KLB on ProPublica reporting (X)Supportive. She formed Atlanta's first LGBTQ+ Advisory Board in 2018, and Georgia Equality made her its first gubernatorial endorsement of the cycle.
Source: Rough Draft AtlantaPro-DEI. As mayor she created Atlanta's first Office of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion; she is campaigning explicitly against the Trump administration's federal DEI rollback.
Source: Capital B NewsHas not put forward a statewide legalization plan as a candidate, but her record leans toward reform — as Atlanta mayor she suspended pre-employment marijuana screening for non-safety city jobs, during a period when the city had decriminalized small-amount possession. Georgia still permits only low-THC medical cannabis.
Source: Cannabis in Georgia — Wikipedia · BallotpediaCalls for a moratorium on new data-center approvals pending a study of their water and utility-bill impacts, saying the state has “absolutely moved too fast.” Gov. Kemp called the idea “insane.”
Source: Bloomberg · Washington ExaminerScandals
Improper city credit-card charges as mayor (Super Bowl airfare, luxury car service)
Repaid; no charges filed and no finding of illegality. The airfare was charged to the city COO's card — he said he was unaware it had been used — and Bottoms reimbursed the city once she learned of it. The car-service spending was disclosed city expense; she stopped charging rides to the city card after the reporting.Open-records reporting by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2018 showed a city-issued credit card belonging to then-Chief Operating Officer Dan Gordon was used to buy $2,610 in first-class airfare so Bottoms's husband, Derek Bottoms — a Home Depot executive, not a city employee — could attend the Super Bowl. Gordon said he did not know his card had been used and did not make the trip; Bottoms said she repaid the city once she found out. Separate records showed she spent $11,651 across more than 27 rides with a luxury limousine service in under five months, outpacing her predecessor, and stopped charging car service to the city card after the reporting. Republican nominee Rick Jackson revived both in the first ad of his $87 million buy in July 2026.
Source: AJC — taxpayers improperly paid husband's airfare · GPB — Bottoms explains improper credit card use · WSB-TV — mayor's limousine tab$37,000 state ethics fine (campaign finance)
Fined by the state campaign-finance commission; resolved.Georgia's campaign-finance commission fined Bottoms $37,000 over violations tied to her earlier campaigns — accepting roughly $6,900 over contribution limits and $110,797 over debt limits, and using an incorrect accounting method.
Source: FOX 5 Atlanta