Former President Joe Biden is back on the campaign trail, at least in spirit. On Friday, Biden released a video endorsing former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in her run for Georgia governor, marking his first public endorsement since leaving the White House earlier this year.
Bottoms is running in a crowded Democratic primary field that also includes former Georgia state Senator Jason Esteves, former state labor commissioner and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, and former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, who served as a Republican before switching parties.
“I’ve known her for a long time, and she’s something special,” Biden said. The endorsement is a significant boost for Bottoms heading into a competitive Democratic primary, and it comes from someone who has seen her work up close.
BREAKING NEWS: President Joe Biden just endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor!
— Keisha For Georgia (@KeishaForGA) May 1, 2026
From her time as mayor to serving in the Biden Administration, Keisha has a record of delivering for Georgians. #gapol pic.twitter.com/apkfp5221D
Biden didn’t hold back in laying out the case for Bottoms. During her tenure as mayor of Atlanta, he pointed to a $180 million budget surplus achieved without raising property taxes, historic pay raises for police and firefighters, and the creation of a child savings account for every kindergartner enrolled in Atlanta’s public school system.
“That’s a record to be proud of,” Biden said in the video.
He also shared that Bottoms led Atlanta through some of the most difficult moments any city leader could face: a global pandemic, a major cyberattack on city systems, and widespread economic uncertainty, and handled each with what he called “steady, thoughtful leadership.”
After her time as mayor, Bottoms went on to serve as a senior adviser in the Biden administration, a role Biden says only reinforced what he already knew about her. “Those same qualities that made her a great mayor made her invaluable to our administration,” he said. “Smart. Focused. Gets things done.”
The endorsement carries additional weight given the history between the two. Biden included Bottoms on a short list of potential vice presidential running mates back in 2020.
Bottoms has held a lead in public polling, but it remains unclear whether she will garner more than 50 percent of the vote and avoid a runoff after the May 19 primary.
Winning the Democratic nomination is one thing; winning Georgia is another challenge entirely. The state skews more Republican statewide and hasn’t elected a Democratic governor since 1999, when former Governor Roy Barnes won and served until 2003.
In 2018, Democrat Stacey Abrams came within less than two percentage points of winning the Georgia gubernatorial contest against Governor Brian Kemp, who beat her again in a 2022 rematch by more than seven percentage points.
“Georgia, she’s ready. She’s been ready,” Biden said. “I’m proud to be in her corner, just like she was in mine.”
The May 19 primary will be the first major test of whether that corner is big enough to carry her through.
