There is a certain kind of jubilance(欢欣鼓舞) that comes from unexpectedly good results. When Keisha Lance Bottoms won the Democratic nomination for Georgia’s governor outright on May 19th, avoiding the run-off(第二轮投票) many expected, her supporters in an Atlanta hotel ballroom broke into a line dance(突然跳起排舞) as if they were at a summer cookout. Women in impossibly tall stilettos and men in suits stepped and swayed in sync(同步地) to “Ain’t Nobody”, a soul classic.
有一种从意外好结果中产生的狂喜之情。当凯莎·兰斯·波托姆斯在5月19日直接赢得乔治亚州州长民主党提名，避开许多人预期的第二轮投票时，她在亚特兰大一家酒店舞厅的支持者们像在夏季户外烧烤一样跳起了排舞。穿着高得不可思议的细高跟鞋的女性和西装革履的男性随着灵魂乐经典《Ain't Nobody》同步踏步摇摆。
They aren’t the only ones celebrating: Republicans across the state are licking their chops(垂涎三尺，摩拳擦掌). In a midterm(中期选举) cycle where Democrats are thought to have their best chance of taking the governor’s mansion in decades, Ms Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, may be her party’s most polarising(两极分化的) general-election choice. She won this week because she has better name recognition(知名度) than her opponents—Georgia’s last Democratic labour commissioner and county executive, and a millennial(千禧一代) state legislator with an Obama-like demeanour(风度，举止)—and because a sisterhood of black women came out in droves(成群结队地出来) for her. But her time in office was marred(玷污，损害) by problems that will dog(纠缠，困扰) her when she faces a Republican in November (a June run-off will decide which one). “A lot of Democrats worry that the commercials write themselves(广告宣传不请自来),” says Fred Hicks, a Democratic strategist. “They say Republicans don’t even have to spend, they can just talk about her record.”
欢庆的不仅是他们：全州的共和党人正在摩拳擦掌。在这个被认为民主党几十年来最有希望赢得州长职位的中期选举周期中，前亚特兰大市长波托姆斯可能是她所在政党最具两极分化的大选选择。她本周获胜是因为她比对手——乔治亚州上届民主党劳工专员和县行政长官，以及一位有着奥巴马风度、千禧一代的州议员——拥有更高的知名度，也因为黑人女性姐妹团成群结队地出来支持她。但她的任期被问题所玷污，当她11月面对共和党对手时（6月的第二轮投票将决定对手是谁），这些问题将纠缠她。"很多民主党人担心负面广告会不请自来，"民主党策略师弗雷德·希克斯说，"他们说共和党甚至不需要花钱，他们只需谈论她的政绩。"
Their simplest line of attack is that Ms Bottoms is soft on crime(对犯罪态度软弱), an allegation that has bite(有杀伤力) with a conservative southern electorate(选民（整体）). After George Floyd(① 背景资料：乔治·弗洛伊德是非洲裔美国...) was killed in 2020, Atlantans looted(抢劫，掠夺) stores and set cop cars on fire. Ms Bottoms spoke as if she had no patience for it. “When Dr King was assassinated we didn’t do this to our city,” she told rioters. “Go home.” But more than a month later armed vigilantes(自卫团体，私刑者) occupied several blocks around a Wendy’s in south Atlanta—and the city didn’t stop them. On July 4th a gangster fired into a car driving past, killing an eight-year-old girl. Something seemed broken. Residents of Buckhead, a rich neighbourhood, began making plans to secede(脱离，退出) from Atlanta.
他们最简单的攻击路线是指责波托姆斯对犯罪态度软弱，这一指控对保守的南方选民很有杀伤力。2020年乔治·弗洛伊德被杀后，亚特兰大市民抢劫商店并焚烧警车。波托姆斯讲话时显得毫不容忍。"当马丁·路德·金博士被暗杀时，我们没有这样对待我们的城市，"她对暴乱者说，"回家去。"但一个多月后，武装自卫团体占领了亚特兰大南部一家温迪快餐店周围的几个街区——而城市没有阻止他们。7月4日，一名歹徒向飞驰的汽车开枪，打死了一名八岁女孩。似乎有些东西崩溃了。富裕社区巴克黑德的居民开始计划从亚特兰大脱离。