Georgia made history on Tuesday by electing Black women up and down the ballot. Yes, Keisha Lance Bottoms is about to become the first Black woman governor in the nation (long overdue, but at least it’s finally here). But she’s not the only powerhouse in Georgia who just got elected.
Black women also won their races for Georgia attorney general, secretary of state, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, labor commissioner and school superintendent. And of course, our very own Dr. Jasmine Clark is about to become the first Black woman in Congress with a science PhD!
In the words of Tanya Miller, the first Black woman (in fact, the first woman period) to be elected as Georgia’s attorney general:
“Tonight I want every young girl watching, every young person who has ever been underestimated, every parent working two jobs to make ends meet, and every Georgian who has ever felt invisible to the institutions meant to protect you, I want you to hear me. You matter. Your voice matters. Your vote matters, and your future matters. There is room for you in the promise of Georgia.”
These victories didn’t happen by accident. They took years of hard work — not just by these amazing women themselves, but the many powerful Black women who came before them. And no one fits that description better than Stacey Abrams.
People across the country have been giving Stacey her much-deserved flowers all week. She ran for governor in 2018 and 2022 after serving as a representative in the Georgia State House, but unfortunately came up a little short in both elections. Stacey was so qualified and ran such great campaigns, by all rights she should’ve been the first Black woman governor nearly a decade ago.
But after Stacey lost, she didn’t stop. She founded Fair Fight Action in 2019 to battle vote suppression (especially against Black voters) and make sure that every American is able to make their voice heard. She’s tackled voter roll purges, overly restrictive voter ID laws, and disinformation. Her years of hard work registering and informing voters made this week’s wins possible.
So thank you, Stacey. Thank you for showing us what’s possible when we don’t give up. Georgia — and the whole country — are on a better path now because of you.
But as powerful a difference as Stacey made, she wasn’t alone. Black women across the nation did this. According to NBC News exit polls, 93% of Black women voted for Democrats this week — far higher than any other demographic.
A record number of 72 Black women were on the midterm ballot nationwide this year, and while results are still coming in, so many of those women won their elections. Juliana Stratton, for example, won her Senate race in Illinois, which means that three Black women will now be in the Senate at the same time. She’ll join Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, who weren’t up for election this year.
Black women have been hit the hardest by the economic crisis of the second Trump administration. They’ve suffered the worst employment losses of any demographic, especially those who are college-educated and worked in government. This week, they took matters into their own hands and took a few of those government jobs back… from governors and senators all the way down to school board.
Thank you to every Black woman who ran for office this year, whether you won or lost. Thank you to tireless organizers like Stacey Abrams. And thank you to every Black woman who showed up to vote.
Hope Stacey gets a good position within the Georgia state government. She's a powerhouse!