Former president endorses Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia Democratic primary
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — Keisha Lance Bottoms was endorsed by her former boss — that being the 46th president of the United States — on Friday in her quest to win this month’s crowded Georgia Democratic gubernatorial primary.
Former President Joe Biden posted his endorsement on X, which was quickly reposted by the Bottoms campaign.
BREAKING NEWS: President Joe Biden just endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor!
— Keisha For Georgia (@KeishaForGA) May 1, 2026
From her time as mayor to serving in the Biden Administration, Keisha has a record of delivering for Georgians. #gapol pic.twitter.com/apkfp5221D
“As mayor of Atlanta, Keisha faced every challenge a leader could face, and then some,” Biden said. “But she handled it all with steady, thoughtful leadership. That’s the definition of battle-tested.”
Why this matters
- Biden’s endorsement gives Bottoms a late, high-profile boost in a crowded Democratic primary, potentially reshaping momentum, fundraising, and turnout.
- The race is now directly tied to redistricting before 2028, making the next governor pivotal in how Georgia’s political maps — and representation — are set.
- Bottoms’ refusal to commit to a second term becomes a major campaign issue because redistricting could require continuity and long-term oversight.
Bottoms was mayor of Atlanta from Jan. 2, 2018, to Jan. 3, 2022. Her tenure was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and her city’s civil unrest following the May 2020 police-related death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
The July 4, 2020, shooting death of 8-year-old Secoriea Turner has been a source of constant questions regarding Bottoms’ leadership. Turner was riding in a car near a protest area in downtown when her family’s car approached a barricade, and gunfire erupted. Several men were later arrested and prosecuted in connection with the shooting.
Bottoms declined to run for a second term, and joined the Biden White House on July 1, 2022 as senior advisor to the president and director of the White House office of public engagement. She left that role in early 2023. Bottoms has consistently denied she declined to run for reelection to accept a position at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Bottoms is facing a number of Democrats with prominent endorsements and long records of service, including former Labor commissioner and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond; former lieutenant governor (and Republican-turned-Democrat) Geoff Duncan; and former metro Atlanta state senator Jason Esteves, who has been endorsed by Jason Carter (grandson of the late President Jimmy Carter) and scores of city and state officials and lawmakers who are supporting him instead of Bottoms.
In a recent interview with Atlanta News First Political Reporter Doug Reardon, Bottoms declined to commit when asked if she would seek a second gubernatorial term if elected governor this fall.
Biden’s endorsement came on the same day outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp said this week’s historic U.S. Supreme Court redistricting decision mandates Georgia’s electoral maps be redrawn before the 2028 election.
Georgia Republicans wasted no time in calling on state lawmakers to redraw Georgia’s maps after Wednesday’s 6-3 ruling that found a Louisiana congressional district relied too heavily on race.
Esteves was quick to pounce on Bottoms’ second-term ambivalence, saying, “the fight for fair maps and equal representation in Georgia begins in this governor’s race, where it is essential that we elect a strong Democrat who will serve for two terms to oversee redistricting.”
For her part, Bottoms said, “this latest ruling is a devastating setback, taking a sledgehammer to the very protections that generations of civil rights leaders fought and bled to secure.”
“It weakens our ability to challenge voting maps that are racially discriminatory — maps designed to dilute and diminish the voices of Black and Latino communities,“ she said.
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