A Little Deja Vu As Atlanta Mayoral Runoff Splits Voters

Keisha Lance Bottoms said in an interview Wednesday that she has not spoken with her opponent Mary Norwood but is confident a recount would not change the results for the Atlanta mayoral runoff.

KAITLIN KOLARIK / WABE

Atlanta voters woke up to deja vu Wednesday in the racially polarized contest to choose the city’s next mayor, with one candidate laying claim to City Hall while the other vowed to seek a recount over a margin of just 759 votes.

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The Tuesday runoff between Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is black, and Mary Norwood, who is white, split Atlanta practically in half after a vitriolic campaign punctuated by political grudges and allegations of corruption. Unofficial results showed Bottoms leading with 46,464 votes, or 50.41 percent, to Norwood’s 45,705 votes, or 49.59 percent.