Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D), who gained national prominence scrapping with President Donald Trump before joining President Joe Biden’s inner circle, entered the race for Georgia governor Tuesday with a vow to bring “battle-tested” leadership to the Capitol, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Said Bottoms: “Right now, people want somebody who’s fighting for them. People have seen me fight. They know that I’m not afraid of Donald Trump. They know that I know how to deliver in uncertain times.”

“Democrats are throwing cold water on the possibility of Stacey Abrams mounting a third bid for Georgia governor, underscoring how the once-rising star’s image has been tarnished by consecutive losses and recent controversies,” The Hill reports.

“Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) filed paperwork Monday to begin raising money for a run for Georgia governor, with plans to formally launch her campaign within weeks,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Bottoms enjoys high name recognition in metro Atlanta, the heart of Georgia’s Democratic electorate, and she won office with overwhelming support from Black women — the party’s most loyal and influential voting bloc.”

“But she had a complicated track record as mayor.”

“Eight years ago, Stacey Abrams delivered a speech at an Atlanta union hall that channeled the liberal outrage over President Donald Trump’s first term in office into her own budding campaign for Georgia’s top job,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“Now Trump is in his second term, Republicans are ascendant again in Georgia and Abrams is at the center of speculation over whether she will mount a third campaign for governor after back-to-back defeats to Gov. Brian Kemp.”

“Unlike her 2022 rematch against Kemp, however, Georgia Democrats aren’t stepping aside.”

Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) “is stepping back from a run for Georgia governor, saying in an interview Monday that she’s focusing on her husband’s health as he undergoes treatment for complications from a recent cancer diagnosis,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) took the first step towards a gubernatorial run today as she formally filed paperwork to launch an exploratory committee, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) told the Atlanta Journal Constitution she is considering a run to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who cannot seek a third term in office.

A new Monmouth poll in Georgia finds more than half of voters will either definitely (44%) or probably (11%) vote to reelect Gov. Brian Kemp in November. His definite support number increased by 10 points since September.

Meanwhile, just over 4 in 10 voters will definitely (35%) or probably (8%) back Abrams, which is basically unchanged from last month.

Key takeaway: Half of the voters polled have definitely ruled out voting for Abrams (50%) compared with only one-third who say the same about Kemp (35%).

“The voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams spent more than $25 million over two years on legal fees, mostly on a single case, with the largest amount going to the self-described boutique law firm of the candidate’s campaign chairwoman,” Politico reports.

“Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Abrams’ close friend who chaired her gubernatorial campaign both in 2018 and her current bid to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, is one of two named partners in Lawrence & Bundy, a small firm of fewer than two dozen attorneys.”

Molly Ball: “Trump put more money and effort into unseating Kemp this year than any other Republican who has crossed him, even Liz Cheney, the crusading anti-Trump congresswoman. When he turned on Kemp, many figured the governor’s career might as well be over.”

“But Trump’s attempt to oust Kemp failed spectacularly. The governor clobbered Trump’s handpicked candidate, former Senator David Perdue, by more than 50 points in the May primary. And far from damaging Kemp, the feud with Trump may have left him better off politically than he was before, burnishing his brand with Trump-skeptical independent voters. That makes Kemp the rare—perhaps the only—GOP pol to have used Trump better than Trump used him.”

Kemp’s feud with Trump has allowed him to elevate his profile among moderate voters who were skeptical of him four years ago.

“Stacey Abrams (D) continued her dominating fundraising streak by collecting more than $36 million over the latest three-month disclosure period for her rematch against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.

“That’s nearly $9 million more than the Democrat raised during her entire 2018 campaign against Kemp, who narrowly defeated her four years ago and is now seeking a second term.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) “collected nearly $29 million over the latest fundraising period, amassing more campaign cash over a three-month period than he raised during his entire 2018 bid for Georgia’s top office,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.