Five Black Governors Elected in 2026 Midterms, Including First Black Woman

Americans elected the nation’s first Black woman governor and four other Black candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia, becoming the first Black woman to hold a gubernatorial office in U.S. history and the first female governor of Georgia, joining a record 17 women governors nationwide. Republican Byron Donalds secured Florida, making him the state’s first Black governor and the nation’s first Black Republican governor. Democrat David Crowley defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin, giving the state its first Black governor. Democrat Aaron Ford beat incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in Nevada, becoming the first Black governor of Nevada and the first Black governor elected west of the Mississippi. Democrat Wes Moore was re‑elected in Maryland, adding a second term to his historic 2022 win that made him Maryland’s first Black governor. Before this cycle, only three Black Americans – former New York Gov. David Paterson, Wes Moore and one other – had ever been elected governor. Moore told CBS News the victories were “incredibly important,” noting that he had been the only Black governor until the new wins doubled that number in one election. Bottoms recalled learning of her win when her husband nudged her while she was listening with AirPods. Donalds, a former U.S. representative for Florida’s 19th district, will break two racial barriers in the governor’s mansion. Crowley, a moderate Democrat, overcame a Trump‑aligned challenger, while Ford’s win marks a historic first for Nevada. ## Context These elections raise the total number of Black governors to five, reflecting a broader trend of increasing diversity in state leadership across the United States.