Atlanta Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announces she won't run for reelection

Atlanta Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says she will not be run for reelection this year.

Bottoms announced a private call with friends, staffers, and allies late and wrote a public statement Thursday night, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Bottoms, who has served as mayor of the city since 2017, has scheduled a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday. 

Her announcement comes as a surprise, considering that in March she kicked off a reelection fundraiser event with President Biden. The fundraiser, the first one for Biden since taking office, raised over $500,000.

Bottoms is also considered a rising star in Democratic politics, having been at the center of such major national issues and events recently including the George Senate races, the state GOP's new election laws, and Major League Baseball moving its 2021 All-Star game out her city as a result of the new laws, which critics say disenfranchises minority voters.

"As (husband) Derek and I have given thoughtful prayer and consideration to the season now before us, it is with deep emotions that I hold my head high, and choose not to seek another term as mayor," Bottoms said in the statement.