The Republican nomination for Georgia governor remains undecided. Billionaire healthcare CEO Rick Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones are stumping their way to a June 16 runoff.
The winner will face Democratic nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms in November, who dominated in the May primary election and seized 56% of the vote.
For now, Bottoms has the luxury of time and a resounding win. The Georgia governor’s mansion has slipped from Democrats’ grasp for more than two decades. She sat down with WABE’s “Morning Edition” to discuss what makes her campaign uniquely positioned to break that streak in November, where previous high-profile nominees like Stacey Abrams fell short.
She also discussed the hot topic of crime on the campaign trail, and how her GOP opponents will address crime rates during Bottoms’ tenure as Atlanta mayor. Plus, her Day 1 priorities if elected include fully expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Bottoms shares how she intends to work with a likely Republican-controlled state legislature to get an expansion passed.
Lastly, Bottoms addressed lawmakers coming back to the Gold Dome in June for a special session to redraw congressional and state legislative lines. That’s in response to the recent U.S Supreme Court decision striking down a key element of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The Jim Crow-era law was passed to prevent racial discrimination at the ballot box.
