Guaranteed-income champions win in US midterms, with Keisha Lance Bottoms elected Georgia governor

Supporters of guaranteed income programmes are declaring victory after the US midterm elections, as several key allies won state and federal offices across the country. Five former members of the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI) coalition, along with officials from partner organisations, were elected to higher office, while voters approved multiple direct-cash ballot measures nationwide.

The most prominent victory came in Georgia. MGI founding member and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was elected governor of the state, becoming the first Black woman elected to lead it.

MGI president Michael D. Tubbs said support for guaranteed income has been steadily growing since the first pilot was launched in 2019. Tubbs served as mayor of Stockton, California, from 2017 to 2021, and also founded Counties for a Guaranteed Income and Legislators for a Guaranteed Income.

MGI said more than 60 bills involving cash-based policies similar to guaranteed income have been introduced across 15 states. Tubbs said previous polling showed a majority of voters support direct, unconditional cash assistance, and that several champions who led guaranteed income programmes at the local level have now ascended to higher office in the most recent elections.

Tubbs said he hopes the newly elected Democratic House and Senate will continue to prioritise affordability and make guaranteed income a permanent policy for Americans.

Two current MGI members secured seats in the US House of Representatives. Two prominent members of MGI's sister network, Counties for a Guaranteed Income, were also elected to higher office.

Cook County, Illinois, has drawn attention as a model for local funding. Officials have described it as the first permanent guaranteed income programme at county level in the nation. To sustain the programme after federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act expired, the Cook County Board of Commissioners approved 7.5 million dollars for guaranteed income as part of its fiscal year 2026 budget.

According to MGI, more than 100 pilot programmes have been launched across the country since 2018. The coalition has grown to more than 150 mayors and promotes pilots offering eligible participants payments of as much as 1,000 dollars per month with no spending restrictions.

However, with federal pandemic relief dollars drying up, questions remain about whether local governments can afford to make these programmes permanent through local taxes.

Other advocacy groups are also pushing for permanent taxpayer-funded guaranteed income programmes at state and federal levels. The Economic Security Project (ESP), founded in 2016, has backed over 100 guaranteed income pilots nationwide.

ESP's director of cash initiatives, Shafeka Hashash, pointed to the result in Michigan, where Dr Abdul El-Sayed won a US Senate election. A longtime cash champion, his campaign centred on the tagline 'Money out of politics. Money in your pocket.' El-Sayed has supported direct-cash programmes aimed at reducing poverty.

Hashash also noted that Sherrod Brown returns to the Senate from Ohio; he is a longtime champion of the Child Tax Credit. Eight of the 10 new Democratic senators are on the record supporting the Child Tax Credit and included it in their platforms.