FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 Friday, May 15, 2026

CONTACT: press@keishaforgovernor.com

ATLANTA — Earlier this week, Democratic candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms kicked off her “Our Rights, Our Future” GOTV Tour to meet with Georgians across the state and discuss her plans to protect voting rights, lower costs, expand access to affordable health care, and invest in education.

Bottoms held an event at an Atlanta skating rink on Monday. Bottoms joined members of labor groups in Gay on Tuesday. Later in the day on Tuesday, Bottoms visited a child care center in Columbus and held meet and greet events in Columbus and Macon.

On Wednesday, Bottoms held a roundtable in Atlanta, where she announced her Democracy First Agenda to make Georgia a national leader in protecting voting rights.

Bottoms is also making stops in Fort Valley, Albany, Thomasville, Valdosta, Waycross, Savannah, Statesboro, and Augusta during the “Our Rights, Our Future” GOTV Tour.

ATLANTA

On Monday, Bottoms joined voters at Cascade Family Skating. While there she reminded Georgians of the importance of voting while highlighting the stakes of the 2026 governor’s race and her vision for Georgia. 

GAY

Early Tuesday morning, Bottoms joined the Georgia State Building Trades, IUOE 926, IBEW 613, and IBEW 1316 at the 19th Annual Southeast Shoot For A Cure event in Gay, Georgia.

COLUMBUS

On Tuesday in Columbus, Bottoms also toured a child care center and discussed her plans to guarantee free pre-K to every 4-year old. She also highlighted her plans to lower costs, expand affordable health care, and invest in early learning. 

“I want to hear from you, God willing, when I'm elected governor, how I can create policies that are more supportive of what you do and the services that you provide,” said Bottoms. “We want to make sure that we close that literacy gap for our children. So many of our children are struggling with the basics of reading, the basics of math. There's something called the Mississippi miracle, where Mississippi has been able to turn around literacy rates in their state, and we know that if our friends in Mississippi can do it, it certainly can be done here.”

Later in the morning, in Columbus, Bottoms held a meet and greet with Georgians to discuss her plans for Georgia including lowering costs, expanding access to affordable health care, and supporting small businesses. 

“I can tell you I will do everything in my power to make sure that we're making it easier for you in whatever way that we can. Whether it be helping with affordable housing, that's something that we can help with, whether it be helping with this health care shortage that we are facing in this state, whether it be helping to support small businesses,” said Bottoms. “And I'm not just speaking about things that I hope to do. I've had proven results in getting things done during my time as mayor of Atlanta, and I know a lot of this can be scaled statewide.”

MACON

On Tuesday evening in Macon, Bottoms joined Georgians at the Tubman African American Museum where she highlighted the importance of protecting Georgians voting rights.

“Leadership matters in this state,” Bottoms reflected. “When I took my 18-year old to vote for the first time he stood next to my mother. And what struck me was when my mother was 18 she didn’t have the right to vote. And now my 18-year old son is facing challenges regarding his access to the vote. So what’s old is new. So if we don’t think elections matter, then go into your news feed and look at the news of the day.”

ATLANTA

Bottoms held a roundtable in Atlanta on Wednesday to announce her Democracy First Agenda. The plan will make Georgia a national leader in protecting voting rights by establishing new protections for voting rights at the state level, protecting election workers, restoring trust in election administration, and expanding voting access for eligible Georgians. 

“Today, we are introducing a Georgia voting rights plan. We've seen this gradual peeling back of our access to the right to vote,” said Bottoms. “The democracy that we have today is because of people like John Lewis, people like Senator Lenoir Johnson, they fought the good fight. Now this battle belongs to us. While we may see threats to our voting rights from the federal and state level, we can fight back and protect our voting rights.”

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