Voters in five states elected Black candidates to gubernatorial offices during the 2026 midterm elections. The winners included Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) in Georgia, Byron Donalds (R) in Florida, David Crowley (D) in Wisconsin, Aaron Ford (D) in Nevada, and Wes Moore (D), who won reelection in Maryland. According to election results reported on Tuesday and Thursday, these outcomes increased the total number of Black governors currently serving in the United States.
Before this election cycle, only three Black Americans had ever been elected to serve as U.S. governors. Gov. Wes Moore, first elected in 2022, was the only Black governor in office prior to these results. The other two previously elected were Douglas Wilder of Virginia and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, while David Paterson became governor of New York in 2008 following a resignation. Gov. Moore told CBS News on Tuesday that doubling the number of elected Black governors in a single cycle was a significant event for the country.
In Georgia, Keisha Lance Bottoms, a former mayor of Atlanta, became the first Black woman elected governor in U.S. history and the first woman elected to lead Georgia. In Florida, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) became the first Black Republican elected governor in the nation. In Wisconsin, David Crowley defeated U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI). In Nevada, Attorney General Aaron Ford defeated incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) to become the first Black governor elected west of the Mississippi River.
The election of Byron Donalds in Florida marks the first time a Black Republican has won a gubernatorial race. Residents in these states will notice changes in state agency leadership and policy priorities as the winners take office. For example, in Nevada, Ford’s transition from Attorney General to Governor changes the leadership of the state's executive branch. The source did not report the specific number of votes cast or the exact dollar amounts of state budgets these governors will now oversee.
These elections also impact the political landscape, as four of the five winners are Democrats and one is a Republican. The results in Wisconsin and Nevada, two states often decided by narrow margins, demonstrate shifts in voter behavior. Following the projections made between Tuesday and Thursday, the next steps include the certification of election results by state officials and the formal inauguration ceremonies, though specific inauguration dates were not reported.