Bottoms, Norwood in Runoff to Become Atlanta Mayor

Atlanta’s next mayor will be a woman for second time in the city’s history.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting in the city of Atlanta, the mayor’s race will be heading into a runoff between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood — neither of whom cleared the 50 percent plus one mark that would have been needed to secure an outright win on Election Day.

The night’s outcomes mirrored the polls heading into the election that showed Mayor Kasim Reed endorsed-Bottoms and Norwood as the clear frontrunners and a run-off inevitable.

Former Atlanta City Council President Cathy Woolard, who did not initially have strong poll showings, garnered 17 percent, followed by former Chief Operating Officer Peter Aman (11 percent), Georgia State Senator Vincent Fort (10%), current Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell (9%) and Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall (4%). Former Fulton County Chairman John Eaves, Rohit Ammanamanchi, Glenn Wrightson, and co-founder of the real estate investment firm Millennial Global Investments Laban King each received 1 percent or under; including Michael Sterling, who was on the ballot, but announced last month he would suspend his campaign and throw his support behind Mitchell.

Bottoms and Norwood are expected to face off in a runoff on Dec. 5.