Photo courtesy of Facebook

MIAMI – Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who also served as a senior advisor to former U.S. President Joe Biden, is running for Georgia governor in 2026.

According to reports, Bottoms made the announcement on April 3 during the Leading Women Defined Summit in Atlanta.

Since leaving political office, Bottoms kept a low profile but was active in voting registration drives, police reform and economic equity.

She said it’s time for her to enter the Georgia gubernatorial race.

“Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that there is a “fierce urgency of now”. For the people of Georgia, that includes having leaders who aren’t blindly following Trump off of a moral and economic cliff but focused on the pressing needs in our communities. I have previously publicly shared that I was seriously considering a run for governor and expect to make a formal announcement soon,” Bottoms told BET.

So far, Bottoms and Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr are the only two candidates in the race seeking to replace Republican Gov. Brain Kemp who’s term-limited next year.

Others rumored to run are Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lt. Governor Burt Jones.

The election is set for November 3, 2026.