# Keisha Lance Bottoms Former mayor of Atlanta (2018–2022) and Biden White House senior advisor, now a **2026 candidate for Governor of Georgia**. Rose to national prominence during the 2020 George Floyd protests when her emotional public address went viral, and was on Biden's VP shortlist before [[Kamala Harris]] was selected. She served as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement from 2022 to 2024. Bottoms enters the open-seat Georgia gubernatorial race — one of the cycle's top toss-ups — with the strongest name recognition in the D primary field, competing against [[Ruwa Romman]] and Jason Esteves on the Democratic side. ## Related - [[2026 Governor Races Hub]] · [[2026 Midterms Hub]] - [[Ruwa Romman]] — D primary rival for Georgia governorship