Keisha Lance Bottoms hosts election night watch party in ATL

Let's move forward here and continue our conversation on the governor's race and head out to our Deidre Dukes, who's at the Marriott Marquis. She's going to talk about Keisha Lance Bottoms. So we heard from Doug, who talked about Rick Jackson. So let's move forward and talk about the Democratic candidate. We want to give you both sides so you can make an educated decision if you have not voted yet. So, Deidre, thanks so much for joining us. Tell us what's happening behind you. Yeah, we're seeing a lot of activity here as Keisha Lance Bottoms' lead team is here at the Marriott Marquis. ahead of tonight's a watch party where she and her supporters, hundreds of people gathering here at the Marriott Marquis starting at 7 o'clock when the doors open to watch those election returns come in after the polls close this evening. We were just a stone's throw from Eric Perry and where the other Democratic candidates are going to be gathered at the hotel just across the street. But Keisha Lance Bottoms is here holding her own watch party here this evening. A lot of excitement here, even as we see the buildup. Leading into election night, because while Keisha Lance Bottoms has not led with this, she will, if she wins tonight, in fact, be making history as the first black governor elected here in Georgia, also the first woman elected in Georgia. And if she wins, she would be the first black woman elected governor in the country. So if she wins tonight, there will be a lot of history made. But at first, of course, she would have to defeat Rick Jackson. And as my colleague Doug Evans said, this is a very, very tight race. We just got yesterday a poll from Insider Advantage that showed this race. When we say neck and neck, tied, this is truly what we're speaking of, where the margins are just so close that at this point it really is these candidates getting their supporters to the polls. That is what is going to... Make this race for them, put them over the top, and you could really see just the effort that's been made even within the last week heading into today, Election Day, by both these candidates to try to drive their supporters to the polls, to continue to energize them, to motivate them. To get them, those who have not to vote, for those who have voted, to get their friends and family out. Because really, when we saw with the 2018 election, when Governor Kemp and Stacey Abrams went head to head, just 54,000 votes separated that race, gave that race to Governor Kemp. And so we've heard from both campaigns just how close that race is. And they do anticipate that we're going to see more of the same this evening possibly. And so, really, to give you an idea of just how these candidates have been stumping, and we've seen this both with Rick Jackson as well as with Keisha Lance Bottoms just yesterday. Keisha Lance Bottoms visiting multiple cities. She visited Dalton, Crawfordville, Athens, Augusta, and Atlanta, and then got up today and was out in Smyrna talking to supporters there, really kind of rallying the troops, thanking her supporters and her volunteers. Volunteers for their efforts saying it's not over yet. We need people to continue to get out here and help campaign for her, to drive those supporters to the polls, to cast their ballots today. Here's what she told them this morning. ...out across Georgia, still knocking on doors, still calling people on the telephone, still sending text messages. And to all the people, I promise you, we'll stop after 7 o'clock tonight. Maybe. Maybe. I know that we have done all humanly possible the things that we can do. I don't know what else we could have done. I hold my head high based on the campaign that we've run, given the odds that we were up against. This is up to God and the people. And Jasmine, tonight, Bottoms is hoping to become the first governor elected Democrat elected governor here in Georgia in more than two decades. So a big night for Democrats tonight. And they are energized. They see real possibility this go around. They feel they're very close. And they just hope that they have done everything they can and that they'll end up with a win tonight at the end of the night. Good night, Jasmine. And Deidre, you know, you mentioned when Stacey Abrams ran against Governor Kemp back in 2018 and then in 2022. Is there anything that Keisha Lance Bottoms is doing differently than Stacey Abrams? Well, Stacey Abrams had an excellent ground game. She had an excellent ground game, and I think analysts would agree that the challenge that she faced the second go-round is that Governor Kemp had such a strong record heading in to the second campaign, his second attempt to run for governor. And so that was her challenge, that go-round. Of course, due to term limits, he is not running this go-round. You've got two candidates who are both campaigning for the first. It's time for this office and so the Campaign field is more level, I guess you could say, and despite the fact that Rick Jackson has poured so much of his own money into this race, Keisha Lance Bottoms says just, you know, say and see that she's doing so well and running neck and neck to him really speaks to the success of her campaign and just very hopeful tonight. Talked to some of her campaign spokespeople. They are very confident heading into this evening. All right, Deidre, thanks so much for breaking this down for us today. We'll see you a little bit later this afternoon on our stream here on Fox Local, and then also on our broadcast shows.