A.M. ATL: Blue Wednesday

Morning, y’all! Happy Day After Election Day. Votes were cast, history was made and now we settle down to the task of figuring out what it all means for Georgia.

Lots of free-to-read stories for AJC nonsubscribers today, so take a look and then consider taking the subscription plunge. Come on in, the water’s fine.

Let’s get to it.

QUICK LINKS

• If you’re just in it for the results, here’s the AJC’s user-friendly midterm results page with every race
• Speed-scroll through the evening and get more info on called races from the AJC’s live election updates
• Nosy? See how your neighborhood voted with this interactive map

(All of these are free to read for everyone, by the way.)

THE RESULTS

Democrats swept all of the major Georgia races of the night, within margins considerably wider than expected. It was a nightmare evening for Republicans, who lost a yearslong hold on the state’s highest offices and saw similar losses across the country.

Keisha Lance Bottoms wins, makes history as the first Black woman governor-elect in the U.S.

• Bottoms will also be Georgia’s first Democratic governor since Roy Barnes left office in 2003.
• “This campaign was for every community and every corner of Georgia,” Bottoms said. “This win is for all of us. Thank you Georgia, I am honored to be your 84th governor.”

🔎 FREE TO READ: How an enslaved great-great grandfather, Maynard Jackson and Stacey Abrams paved Bottoms’ road to the Governor’s Mansion

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff wins after crushing campaign

• Early on, when midterm conversations were just beginning, Ossoff’s seat was considered vulnerable. By election night, his victory seemed a foregone conclusion. Here’s how he made it happen.

Other top state races turn Dem

Democrats swept every statewide constitutional office. With the exception of one Public Service Commission seat, which Democrats picked up in a special election last year, all the posts had been held by Republicans. Here are the winners:

• Lieutenant Governor: Josh McLaurin
• Secretary of State: Penny Brown Reynolds
• Attorney General: Tanya Miller
• Agriculture Commissioner: Katherine Juhan-Arnold
• Insurance Commissioner: Keisha Sean Waites
• School Superintendent: Lydia Powell
• Labor Commissioner: Nikki Porcher
• Public Service Commission District 3: Peter Hubbard (incumbent)
• Public Service Commission District 5: Shelia Edwards

Edwards’ win in District 5 will flip control of the five-person PSC from Republican to Democrat, 3-2.

🔎 FREE TO READ: More on each winner in Democrats’ historic GA sweep

Big shifts in Georgia’s House and Senate

• Democrats were within striking distance of taking control of the Georgia House of Representatives early Wednesday, though key races were too close to call.
• Democrats also appeared to gain ground in the Georgia Senate, but it was not clear they would net the six seats they need to take control of that chamber.

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SOUND BITES: THE NIGHT IN QUOTES

“If at times these last few years, amid the ceaseless onslaught of brutality and indecency, you doubted whether our Republic would survive, let tonight’s results give you courage.”

• U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, who framed his win and other national Dem victories as a harsh rebuke against President Donald Trump

“It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve under the leadership of the best president in my lifetime: President Donald J. Trump.”

• U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who said his defeat did not erase his accomplishments in the House

“What you have seen tonight is that change is slow until it’s fast, and I know people in this room who have been in Georgia politics a lot longer than I have, who have done the work, who have organized … we owe Stacey Abrams an incredible debt of gratitude for laying the foundation for our victory tonight.”

• Lt. Gov.-elect Josh McLaurin, who said he hopes for a bipartisan state coalition to tackle issues like Medicaid and affordability

“Tonight’s outcome is not what our candidates worked so hard to achieve. We respect the will of Georgia’s voters, and we hope those elected will serve all of Georgia.”

• The Georgia Republican Party, in a statement acknowledging major losses and seemingly putting to rest any lingering concerns of election security accusations

BIG THEMES IN GEORGIA

💁🏾‍♀️ Black women win big: Black women have long been the backbone of Georgia’s Democratic coalition. Last night they won several key elections that put them up front: governor, secretary of state, attorney general, agriculture commissioner, insurance commissioner, school superintendent, labor commissioner and public service commissioner.

🐘 Georgia’s GOP faces existential questions: With major losses at home and across the country, state Republicans didn’t sugarcoat the situation. “We are in a transitioning period as a party, and we’ve got to get to a better place,” Melanie Collier, a longtime GOP activist, said at a gathering for Rick Jackson.

🔎 READ MORE: State Republicans react to historic upheaval

🗳️ No major voting issues: Election leaders in DeKalb, Cobb and other Georgia counties said Election Day procedures went smoothly. Between the Department of Justice sending monitors to polling places and years of GOP-led investigations into Georgia’s elections, there were some concerns about potential disruptions.

📜 Changes to the constitution: Georgia voters also authorized a 911 modernization fund, an increased property tax exemption for farmers and nonpartisan probate judges.

🔎 FREE TO READ: More on these new amendments and what they do

THE NATIONAL CONTEXT

The Democratic wave reached a lot farther than Georgia.

• Democrats won control of both the U.S. House and Senate, and saw prediction-busting Democratic turnout in places handily won by Trump in 2024.
• A national dissatisfaction with Trump was a key theme of the evening. Demographic voting patterns show the Latino vote shifted away from Trump since the 2024 presidential election. Young voters also voted more blue than they did in 2024.
• This is just the fourth time the U.S. House and Senate have flipped from one party to the other in the same midterm in the post-World War II era. The other times: 1946, 1994 and 2006.
• Democrats also won governors’ races in longtime GOP-controlled states, including Iowa, Ohio and Texas, giving the party a majority of governorships for the first time in two decades.

🔎 READ MORE: Other historic firsts from the 2026 election

ON THIS DATE

Nov. 4, 1992

Historic GOP, minority wins send a diverse Ga. delegation to Congress. ... A total of seven newcomers, including two additional Black members of Congress will shape the delegation. State Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Atlanta) won the newly created 11th District and state Sen. Sanford Bishop (D-Columbus) won the 2nd District. The state picked up an extra seat this year based on population growth in the 1990 census. “Now the Georgia delegation goes a long way toward reflecting the citizens of Georgia,” said Ms. McKinney.

McKinney was the first Black woman to represent Georgia in Congress. She served six terms. Oh, and Sanford Bishop, mentioned here, represents District 2 to this day. History: Not really that long ago!