Former president Joe Biden is stepping back into electoral politics, endorsing the ex-Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for Georgia governor in one of his most direct political moves since leaving the White House.
The endorsement gives Bottoms, a longtime Biden ally and former White House adviser, a high-profile boost in a crowded Democratic primary for one of the most closely watched governor's races of 2026. It also offers an early test of whether Biden, now outside the presidency, can still move voters, donors, and party leaders in a battleground state that helped define his political legacy.
Bottoms was one of Biden's early and most visible supporters during the 2020 presidential campaign. She later joined his administration as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement before returning to Atlanta. She officially launched her campaign for governor in May 2025, saying her single term as mayor gave her "battle-tested executive leadership."
In the endorsement minute-long video, the ex-president reinforced the message. Biden praised her track record as mayor and said, "Those same qualities that made her a great mayor made her invaluable to our administration: smart, focused, and gets things done."
"She handled it all with steady and thoughtful leadership," Biden said in the video. "That's the definition of battle-tested."
The endorsement is not Biden's first public act since leaving office, but it is among his clearest interventions in a live campaign. That distinction gives the move political weight beyond Georgia: Biden is no longer on the ballot, but he is signaling that he intends to remain a force inside Democratic politics as the party looks toward the 2026 midterms.
Biden's support is a test on his remaining power
For Bottoms, Biden's support reconnects her campaign to the national Democratic network that helped make her a prominent figure in 2020. As Atlanta mayor, she became a regular Biden surrogate and was considered for the vice presidency before Biden selected Kamala Harris. Her campaign now centers on the argument that her experience leading Atlanta through the pandemic, public safety crises, and political turbulence can translate statewide.
"I'm running to be a fighter for Georgia," Bottoms told AP when she launched her campaign, citing Medicaid expansion, small businesses, and career training among her priorities.
The race is unusually open. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is term-limited, and Democrats see their best chance in years to win the governor's mansion in a state where Republicans have held the office since 2002. Georgia Democrats are competing in a low-dollar, crowded primary, while national Democrats have said the state is "in play."
The Biden endorsement also lands as Republicans are trying to frame the race around President Donald Trump's influence. Trump has endorsed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in the Republican primary, giving the Georgia contest the potential to become a proxy fight between two presidents and their political coalitions.
Bottoms still faces a complicated path. No Atlanta mayor has ever become Georgia governor, a barrier Bottoms has acknowledged directly. "I'm going to be the first because I am working to earn people's votes across the state," she said during a campaign stop in Columbus.
Her Democratic rivals are likely to argue that Georgia voters want a fresh face, not a candidate tied closely to Washington. Republicans, meanwhile, have already signaled they plan to attack her record as Atlanta mayor, including crime, public safety, and her decision not to seek reelection.
But Biden's endorsement changes the race's center of gravity. It brings national attention, donor interest, and a reminder that Georgia remains one of the country's most symbolically loaded political battlegrounds.
Originally published on Latin Times
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