Timeline: Key transition dates for Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms
Keisha Lance Bottoms reveals transition call with Kemp
Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms outlined executive transition priorities including bipartisan Medicaid expansion while celebrating a nine-point victory that flipped seven Republican counties and secured the largest gubernatorial win margin in 16 years.
ATLANTA - With her historic victory officially secured, Gov.-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms is officially on the clock to build her administration. Speaking to volunteers and reporters in Atlanta on Wednesday, Bottoms outlined the transition timeline her team faces between now and her January inauguration.
Keisha Lance Bottoms transition planning underway
What we know:
The transition period began immediately following Tuesday's election. Since Bottoms won the race outright without triggering a December runoff, her team gains an extra month of planning time. Bottoms contrasted this with her 2017 mayoral victory, which was decided in a runoff.
"It's a complicated process, but certainly one that's necessary, and [I am] very grateful to have more time than I had when I transitioned into the mayor's office," Bottoms said Wednesday. "I believe I had three weeks, maybe, for a transition because I went into a runoff. So I'm grateful that this is the first week in November and not the first week in December."
During this November-to-January window, Bottoms said her transition team is reviewing every campaign speech and policy promise—specifically regarding Medicaid expansion—to draft concrete action plans. She is also currently holding meetings with House Democratic Leader Carolyn Hughley and Senate Democratic Leader Harold Jones II to align legislative strategies.
Key dates
Timeline:
Here are some of the key dates and times to look out for:
- Nov. 4 – January 2027: Bottoms formally expands transition operations and policy committees. Transition staff audits campaign speeches to build delivery plans for Medicaid expansion, teacher pay and more. Winning outright avoids a December runoff, giving her team a full 10-week planning runway instead of the 3-week sprint from her 2017 mayoral runoff.
- Late 2026: Gov. Kemp may call a brief special legislative session on unfinished state budget items before concluding his term.
- Early January 2027: Outgoing Gov. Kemp executes official duties until inauguration and coordinates administrative turnover.
- Monday, Jan. 11, 2027: Bottoms takes the oath of office as Georgia’s 84th governor at the State Capitol and submits her initial executive budget to the legislature.
Executive cooperation during handoff
Dig deeper:
While Bottoms is assembling her administration, Georgia’s executive powers remain entirely with outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Kemp until the new year.
Bottoms confirmed Wednesday that Kemp offered his team's full cooperation for an "orderly and productive transition." She also acknowledged that Kemp continues to hold the reins for the next two months, shooting down concerns over how the two will share the spotlight.
"There's one governor at a time," Bottoms noted. "So as the person who will be the governor through the first part of January, that's certainly his prerogative to call a session to try and deal with some of those budgetary issues that he believes need to be dealt with."
What we don't know:
Bottoms mentioned that Kemp highlighted some unresolved budgetary priorities, leaving the door open for a brief lame-duck special session before he leaves office. The exact dates of any potential special session have not been announced.
Under state law, the governor is sworn in concurrently with the opening of the Georgia General Assembly. While the legislative session is slated to begin in mid-January 2027, the exact schedule for the official swearing-in ceremony, inaugural gala, and public festivities has not yet been released.
Bottoms has not announced specific dates for when she will name her Chief of Staff, agency heads, or formal transition committee co-chairs.
What's next:
Bottoms’ policy teams will work privately throughout November and December. Once the General Assembly gavels in for the 2027 legislative session in January, Bottoms will take the oath of office as Georgia’s 84th governor and immediately present her first executive budget proposal.
"We've already begun the work to begin laying out these priority areas and determine how, during this transition period, we quickly begin to address them and have a plan to deliver in January," Bottoms said.
The Source: Information in this timeline is based on statements made by Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms during her Wednesday afternoon press address in Atlanta, the Georgia State Constitution, and transition procedures established by the Georgia General Assembly.