Keisha Lance Bottoms made history as America's first Black woman elected governor, but the grassroots organizing that helped transform Georgia's political landscape began years before her victory.
On November 3, 2026, Georgia made history.
Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman ever elected governor in the United States. Her victory also made her Georgia's first female governor and returned the governor's mansion to Democratic control for the first time in 24 years.
Across the state, Democrats celebrated victories in several statewide races, including the reelection of U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff.
But as the congratulations poured in and Georgia's political transformation dominated national headlines, another name deserved to be part of the conversation.
Stacey Abrams.
Not because she won the governor's race. She didn't.
Not because she single-handedly delivered Georgia to Democrats. She didn't do that either.
But because the former Georgia House minority leader spent years investing in voter registration, grassroots campaigning, political participation, and organizing in communities that campaigns had too often overlooked.
Long before Georgia's historic 2026 midterm elections, Abrams was helping build the political infrastructure that would make the state more competitive.
And now that Georgia has elected its first Black female governor, it's worth revisiting the work that helped make such a victory possible.
Before Georgia Turned Blue, Stacey Abrams Was Building Something
To understand Abrams' influence, you have to go back further than the 2020 presidential election.
In 2010, Abrams became minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives during a period when Democrats were struggling to compete statewide.
Republicans controlled Georgia's governorship, and the state's political landscape appeared firmly tilted in their favor.
But Abrams approached the challenge differently.
Rather than focusing exclusively on persuading voters who regularly participated in elections, she believed political organizations needed to engage eligible citizens who weren't registered or who rarely voted.
That included Black voters, young people, Latino communities, Asian American voters, and residents of rural Georgia.
In 2014, Abrams founded the New Georgia Project, an organization focused on expanding voter registration and civic participation among historically underrepresented communities.
The premise was straightforward: Georgia's electorate could look different if more eligible residents had the information, access, and opportunity to participate.
The organization pursued registration efforts across much of the state, including communities outside metropolitan Atlanta.
It was an approach that challenged the assumption that the same familiar voters would always determine Georgia's elections.
The Work Was Bigger Than Registering Voters
Voter registration was only one part of Abrams' broader strategy.
Registering someone to vote doesn't automatically mean that person will participate in an election.
People still need information about candidates, registration requirements, polling locations, absentee ballots, and the voting process itself.
Some face transportation challenges, demanding work schedules, or uncertainty about their registration status.
Others have become discouraged after years of feeling ignored by political institutions.
Abrams understood that meaningful political participation required sustained engagement.
That meant organizing between elections rather than appearing in neighborhoods only when politicians needed votes.
Her work helped popularize an approach centered on consistent outreach, community relationships, and year-round voter engagement.
It also demonstrated why local organizers, volunteers, churches, civic organizations, and neighborhood leaders were central to Georgia's changing political environment.
Abrams wasn't working alone. Numerous independent organizations and community leaders contributed to the state's expanding electorate.
But she became one of the most recognizable figures associated with that long-term strategy.
2018: She Lost the Election but Changed the Conversation
When Abrams ran for governor in 2018, she made history as the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major political party in the United States.
She faced Republican Brian Kemp in a closely watched election.
Kemp ultimately won by approximately 55,000 votes.
For Abrams, the defeat was significant. But the campaign also revealed how competitive Georgia had become.
She mobilized a broad coalition of voters and brought national attention to the political potential of communities that had historically experienced lower participation.
Her campaign also placed voting access and election administration at the center of Georgia's political debate.
Following the election, Abrams founded Fair Fight Action, which focused on voting rights, election administration, and efforts to challenge practices the organization considered discriminatory.
The group pursued legal action, voter education, and election-related advocacy.
Not all of its legal arguments succeeded in court, and disagreements over Georgia's election policies continued.
Nevertheless, Fair Fight helped maintain public attention on voting access beyond the conclusion of the 2018 campaign.
For Abrams, the election was not the end of her political involvement.
It became another chapter in a much longer organizing effort.
2020: Georgia Flipped for the First Time in Nearly Three Decades
Two years later, Georgia delivered a presidential election result that captured national attention.
Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump by just 11,779 votes.
For the first time since Bill Clinton's victory in 1992, Georgia supported the Democratic presidential nominee.
The result reflected several developments, including demographic changes, increased participation, suburban political shifts, and extensive organizing across the state.
Abrams and organizations associated with her voter engagement work received significant national attention.
But the outcome was not solely attributable to one individual or organization.
Years of work by grassroots groups, local organizers, volunteers, and civic leaders helped create an environment in which more Georgians were participating in elections.
The significance of that investment became especially apparent in a race decided by fewer than 12,000 votes.
Georgia was no longer a state that national political observers could automatically place in one party's column.
Its elections had become highly competitive.
2021: The Senate Runoffs Changed Washington
Georgia's political transformation continued in January 2021.
Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff defeated Republican incumbents Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in two closely watched Senate runoff elections.
Those victories produced an evenly divided U.S. Senate, with Vice President Kamala Harris holding the tie-breaking vote.
Once again, voter engagement organizations across Georgia played an important role in encouraging participation.
The runoff elections demonstrated how sustained organizing could remain relevant beyond a presidential contest.
They also showed that Georgia's changing electorate could influence national political outcomes.
For Abrams, the results represented another milestone in the long-term organizing strategy she had advocated for years.
2022: Another Loss, but the Organizing Continued
Abrams challenged Brian Kemp again in Georgia's 2022 gubernatorial election.
This time, Kemp won by a substantially larger margin than in 2018.
The loss illustrated an important political reality: expanded registration and community organizing do not guarantee victory for a particular candidate.
Voters make decisions based on many factors, including candidates, policies, economic circumstances, and their assessments of government leadership.
And Georgia's electorate remained politically competitive rather than permanently aligned with either party.
Still, Abrams' defeat did not erase the organizing infrastructure developed over the preceding decade.
The relationships, networks, and strategies associated with Georgia's grassroots political movement remained part of the state's electoral landscape.
2026: Keisha Lance Bottoms Makes History
On November 3, 2026, Georgia elected Keisha Lance Bottoms as governor.
The former Atlanta mayor defeated Republican businessman Rick Jackson, winning approximately 54% of the vote.
Her victory made her the first Black woman elected governor of any American state.
It also marked the first Democratic gubernatorial victory in Georgia since Roy Barnes won reelection in 1998.
Bottoms' campaign had its own strategy, message, volunteers, fundraising operation, and leadership.
She campaigned on issues including healthcare, affordability, public employment, and reproductive rights.
Her election was a victory achieved by her campaign and the voters who supported her.
But one particularly revealing detail emerged in post-election analysis.
According to Axios Atlanta, Bottoms' campaign built on an organizing approach associated with Abrams' 2018 campaign, including outreach in middle and south Georgia and efforts to engage rural and Black voters.
That connection matters.
It provides a tangible example of how strategies developed through earlier campaigns can influence later elections.
Abrams had spent years arguing that Georgia Democrats needed to engage communities throughout the state rather than concentrating exclusively on metropolitan Atlanta.
Bottoms' campaign continued that approach.
In November 2026, it became part of a successful statewide gubernatorial campaign.
The Victory Wasn't Abrams' Alone, and That's Part of the Story
Recognizing Abrams' contributions shouldn't mean overlooking the work of other people.
Georgia's political transformation involved numerous organizations, including Black Voters Matter, the New Georgia Project, Fair Fight, and local civic groups.
It involved volunteers who knocked on doors, organizers who worked in rural communities, people who helped neighbors understand voting procedures, and residents who decided to participate in elections.
The 2026 results also reflected the political environment of that particular election, the strengths and weaknesses of individual campaigns, and changes in voter preferences.
Abrams deserves to be included in that history, but she wasn't solely responsible for it.
And perhaps that's one of the more important lessons of grassroots organizing.
Political change rarely begins with one person, and its effects cannot always be measured by whether the original organizer eventually wins office.
Sometimes the most lasting contribution is helping create opportunities that others can build upon.
Stacey Abrams Responds to Georgia's Historic Victory
Following the 2026 election, Abrams discussed Georgia's Democratic victories in an interview with NPR.
She expressed pride in Bottoms' election and explained that her years of political organizing had been about more than rebuilding the Democratic Party.
They had also been about restoring trust among people who felt disconnected from the political process.
Abrams described the transformation as a building process that took place over multiple election cycles.
That distinction is significant.
Georgia didn't suddenly become competitive in November 2026.
Its political landscape changed through years of demographic shifts, registration drives, campaign investments, community organizing, and evolving voter priorities.
Abrams was one of the prominent figures who recognized that long-term engagement could change the state's electoral possibilities.
Her gubernatorial losses remain part of her political record.
So does the organizing work that helped shape the environment in which future candidates competed.
Black Women's Political Leadership Is Bigger Than One Election
There is also something historically meaningful about the connection between Stacey Abrams and Keisha Lance Bottoms.
Both women pursued Georgia's highest political office.
Abrams became the first Black woman nominated for governor by a major party in 2018.
Eight years later, Bottoms became the first Black woman elected governor in American history.
Their paths were different, as were their campaigns and electoral outcomes.
But both became part of a larger story about Black women's participation in American politics.
Historically, Black women have served as organizers, advocates, campaign workers, and community leaders, often without receiving the same recognition afforded to elected officials.
Their influence has extended beyond the offices they personally held.
The Georgia story provides another example of how political leadership can take multiple forms.
Winning an election is one form of influence.
Building organizations, expanding participation, developing future leaders, and encouraging communities to become more politically engaged are others.
Abrams' career illustrates that distinction.
The Bottom Line: Give the Organizers Their Flowers, Too
Keisha Lance Bottoms' election deserves to be remembered as a historic achievement.
Georgia elected its first woman governor, its first Black governor, and the first Black woman ever elected governor in the United States.
Those milestones belong to Bottoms and the voters who elected her.
But the story of Georgia's changing political landscape didn't begin on Election Day.
It includes years of work by activists, volunteers, civic organizations, and political leaders who believed the state's electorate could become more representative and more engaged.
Stacey Abrams was one of those leaders.
She helped establish voter registration initiatives, brought national attention to voting access, advocated for year-round political engagement, and developed campaign strategies that influenced later elections.
She lost two races for governor, but those defeats do not tell the entirety of her political story.
The impact of a political leader can extend well beyond a single election result.
And Georgia's 2026 election offers a timely opportunity to examine that broader legacy.
So as the nation recognizes Keisha Lance Bottoms' historic victory, there is room to recognize the organizing work that helped shape the political landscape she inherited.
Because sometimes the people who help open a door aren't the ones who ultimately walk through it.
And their contributions still deserve to be remembered.
Sources and Further Reading
Associated Press — Keisha Lance Bottoms Makes History in Georgia's 2026 Election
Axios Atlanta — How Keisha Lance Bottoms Won the Governor's Race
NPR — Stacey Abrams Discusses Georgia's Democratic Victories
CBS News — Stacey Abrams and Georgia's Voter Registration Efforts
Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Keisha Lance Bottoms Elected Georgia Governor
