Tuesday’s midterm elections were monumental, with Democrats retaking Congress and a number of groundbreaking victories placing a diverse slate of candidates in offices across the country. In perhaps the most unprecedented outcome of the 2026 elections, Tuesday’s races saw more Black governors elected in one day than had been elected in the entire history of the United States up to this point.
Bottoms, Crowley score historic victories in governors’ races
In a night of groundbreaking results, perhaps none was more momentous than the election of Keisha Lance Bottoms as governor of Georgia. Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta who later served in the administration and reelection campaign of former President Joe Biden, has become the first Black woman to be elected governor of any state. This achievement is particularly significant for Georgia, which twice voted to elect Brian Kemp over Stacey Abrams and supported Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in 2024. Abrams congratulated Bottoms, posting, “Georgians spoke clearly for a brighter direction for our state. Thank you to every organizer and volunteer who made sure those voices were heard. Let’s get to work.”
In Wisconsin, meanwhile, Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany in that state’s governor’s race. The win caps an unexpected political run for Crowley, a centrist who defied the progressive wave within the Democratic Party by defeating Francesca Hong in August’s Democratic primary. Crowley’s victories in the primary and general elections have been stunning results for a candidate who briefly ended his campaign earlier this year amid low poll numbers and meager fundraising. Having completed his political comeback, Crowley will now be the first Black governor in Wisconsin history. In a short social media post acknowledging his victory, Crowley said, “Thank you, Wisconsin. Thank you for believing in me. Serving as your governor will be the honor of a lifetime.”
Ford flips Nevada as Donalds becomes first Black Republican elected governor
The record-breaking victories by Black candidates in governors’ races continued into early Wednesday morning, as Democrat Aaron Ford, Nevada’s sitting attorney general, won a stunning victory, unseating incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Ford, the first Black person to hold any statewide office in Nevada, will now be the state’s first Black governor.
In addition to the Democratic gubernatorial victories, GOP Rep. Byron Donalds became the first Black Republican ever to be elected governor of a state, winning the Florida governor’s race. Donalds drew on the support of both outgoing Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Trump to appeal to the state’s conservative base. Donalds thanked both men in his victory speech, saying to Trump, “Mr. President, I want you to hear from Florida that we are still red” and complimented DeSantis for “the very best state in America.”
Bottoms, Crowley, Ford and Donalds will join Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who easily won reelection, putting 10% of all U.S. states under the leadership of Black governors. To put the scale of this outcome in perspective, the number of Black governors elected Tuesday is greater than the total number of Black governors who had been elected in all of U.S. history up to this point. And this unprecedented cohort will be joined by two Black lieutenant governors who were also elected Tuesday. In Illinois, Christian Mitchell was elected as the first Black man and second Black person to serve as lieutenant governor, following in the footsteps of former Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, who left the office in order to become the second Black woman elected to represent the state in the U.S. Senate. And as noted by the New York Amsterdam News, “History in New York. Adrienne Adams has been elected lieutenant governor, the first Black woman to hold the office in state history. She and Gov. Kathy Hochul are the first all-woman ticket elected to lead New York.”
The achievements of Black candidates in Tuesday’s governors’ races are truly without precedent. Black candidates succeeded across regional, party and gender lines, achieving a series of firsts for their individual states and collectively establishing a never-before-seen era of Black governance across the United States.