Bottoms, who formerly advised ex-President Joe Biden, beat Republican Rick Jackson.Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms has made history as the first Black woman elected governor of a US state, according to Associated Press news agency projections.The former Atlanta mayor emerged victorious in Georgia over her billionaire opponent, Republican Rick Jackson, who spent more than $200m of his personal fortune in an attempt to succeed the popular outgoing Republican governor, Brian Kemp.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Georgia Senate candidates make final appeals ahead of US midtermslist 2 of 3How US midterms have cost a record $12bn as cost of living soarslist 3 of 3Jon Ossoff wins Georgia Senate race, defeating Republican Mike Collinsend of listBottoms, a former adviser to US President Joe Biden, was propelled to victory in part by the state’s significant Black voting bloc, which turned out in large numbers during early voting.During the campaign, she faced Republican attempts to characterise her time as mayor as a crime-ridden decline for the state’s largest city.“It’s a longstanding playbook to paint Atlanta as this big bad place,” Bottoms told the Associated Press news agency.Bottoms’ win marks the third consecutive time that Georgia Democrats have nominated a Black woman for governor. Stacey Abrams lost in 2018 and 2022 to Kemp, who is leaving office in January after eight years due to term limits.