Former President Joe Biden has finally made his first midterm cycle endorsement, and it’s a head-scratcher.
Biden is officially throwing his weight behind former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is currently running for governor of Georgia. Bottoms had joined the Biden administration as a special advisor after opting not to run for reelection in 2021. She posted the endorsement on X Friday evening.
Watch:
BREAKING NEWS: President Joe Biden just endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor!
From her time as mayor to serving in the Biden Administration, Keisha has a record of delivering for Georgians. #gapol pic.twitter.com/apkfp5221D
— Keisha For Georgia (@KeishaForGA) May 1, 2026
“Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. I’ve known her for a long time, and she’s something special,” Biden said. “As mayor of Atlanta, Keisha faced every challenge a leader could face and then some. A global pandemic, a major cyber attack on the city systems, economic uncertainty that tested every community across Georgia, but she handled it all with steady, thoughtful leadership. That’s the definition of battle-tested.”
“Keisha’s tenure as mayor of Atlanta left $180 million in the bank without raising property taxes, gave historic pay raises to police and firefighters, created a child savings account for every kindergartener in Atlanta’s public school system,” he continued. “That’s a record to be proud of. And then she came to the White House and served as a senior advisor. And I’ll tell you, those same qualities that made her a great mayor, made her invaluable to our administration. Smart. Focused. Gets things done. Georgia, she’s ready! She’s been ready!” Keisha Lance Bottoms for governor, now! I’m proud to be in her corner, just like she was in mine. So let’s get this thing done.”
If that name sounds familiar, it might be because Bottoms, who has faced ethics-related scrutiny in the past, made headlines again last month.
“Even with Atlanta’s history of corruption scandals, former Atlanta City Council leader Jennifer Ide, who served as the head of a city council ethics committee while Bottoms was mayor, said the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful’s past scandals, in particular her alleged pay-to-play scheme with a contractor, should be ‘concerning’ for voters,” Fox News reported.
“I mean, I think it’s concerning,” Ide said to Fox News Digital. “I don’t think that the voters want to feel like special interests impact the outcome of an election.”
Specifically, the concerns relate to ties between Bottoms and a contractor “that later landed lucrative city contracts after she signed an initial consulting contract with the firm while leading the Atlanta Fulton County Recreation Authority (AFCRA) and just days before leaving the city council as she was preparing to become mayor, with the company’s CEO later donating to and fundraising for her campaign.”
But a Bottoms campaign spokesperson brushed off the criticism as the former mayor’s Democratic primary opponents “dredging up recycled stories and unfounded accusations.”
“Keisha has a commanding lead in the polls and it is no surprise that people who endorsed her primary opponents are dredging up recycled stories and unfounded accusations from last decade in a desperate attempt to lift up their chosen candidate’s lagging campaign,” Keisha for Governor campaign spokesperson TaNisha Cameron, explained to Fox News Digital.
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Sierra Marlee is a millennial whose hunger for the truth in a world of fake news has led her to write. Marlee also contributes to BizPac Review.
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