A Historic Night for Black Women: Keisha Lance Bottoms and Stacey Plaskett Win Governor’s Races

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Side-by-side archival portraits of Keisha Lance Bottoms, left, and Stacey Plaskett, right — Keisha Lance Bottoms, left, and Stacey Plaskett broke barriers in the November 3 election, winning governor’s races in Georgia and the U.S. Virgin Islands, respectively. Both are members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Photo assembled with AI assistance from separate archival portraits. Sources: Executive Office of the President and Office of Stacey Plaskett; public domain.

Two elections. Two places in history. One night that expanded the picture of who gets to lead.

Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governor’s race, while Stacey Plaskett won the governorship of the U.S. Virgin Islands in the November 3 election. Their victories mark separate breakthroughs for Black women in executive leadership, with a shared connection through Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, defeated Republican Rick Jackson, according to an Associated Press race call reported by Georgia Public Broadcasting. She is set to become Georgia’s first woman governor and the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state.

Her victory returns Georgia’s governor’s office to Democratic control after more than two decades. Bottoms previously led Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and later served in the Biden administration, GPB reported.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, voters elected Plaskett and running mate Milton Potter, according to St. Thomas Source’s reporting on unofficial territorial results. Plaskett will become the territory’s first woman governor. The distinction matters: Georgia is a U.S. state, and the U.S. Virgin Islands is a U.S. territory. Each election carries its own history and responsibilities. Their significance does not require blurring those differences.

Both women are members of Delta Sigma Theta. Its reporting notes that Plaskett joined through the St. Croix Alumnae Chapter in 2019, citing a statement from her congressional office. For readers connected to Black Greek-letter organizations, the victories offer another point of connection between sisterhood and public service. For young people watching, they add two names to the growing record of Black women elected to lead. Representation is part of this story. Governing is the chapter that follows. These milestones will be followed by the everyday responsibilities of executive office and the expectations of the communities that elected them.