SAVANNAH, Ga. — Democratic governor nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms brought her closing campaign swing to downtown Savannah on Friday, telling voters at Kim’s Cafe that smaller firms should get a fairer shot at state work.
The former Atlanta mayor pitched a new office inside state government devoted to firms with 25 or fewer workers. She also floated carving some very large state contracts into smaller pieces so more companies could bid, adding that the goal is to widen the field rather than shut anyone out.
The question came from a chamber leader who asked how a Bottoms administration would raise the share of state contract dollars going to Black-owned companies. Bottoms answered that small firms already handle a large part of the work on big state jobs, often as subcontractors, and should have a clearer path to winning contracts of their own.
The stop fell on the last day of early voting and was one leg of a statewide swing lasting five days. Her broader pitch in the room covered cutting household costs, protecting SNAP food aid, widening Medicaid coverage and putting more money into schools. She told the crowd that young voters keep raising mental health care, the cost of living and job worries tied to artificial intelligence.
Local Black leaders who joined her at the cafe said Georgia is ready for a change in leadership. Voters who missed early voting can still cast ballots at their Chatham County precincts on Election Day.
She faces Republican businessman Rick Jackson on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the race to succeed term-limited Gov. Brian Kemp. A recent Echelon Insights poll of 508 likely voters had Bottoms at 49% and Jackson at 48%, a margin well inside its error range.
Bottoms planned Saturday stops in Columbus, Bainbridge and Albany. Jackson has a Savannah stop set for Monday at the airport, starting at 2 p.m.
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Filed under: Savannah GA Politics News
