Black History is Made in Governor’s Races Across America’s South
Historic wins and barriers broken defined the Nov. 3 elections, as the 2026 midterms delivered a night with lasting implications for Black political power. Across the South, Black candidates shattered long-standing political ceilings, charting historic paths on both sides of the partisan divide.
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms made history by becoming the state’s first Black governor and the first Black woman governor in American history, the Associated Press reported. Meanwhile, in neighboring Florida, Republican Byron Donalds secured his own barrier-breaking gubernatorial victory, cementing a transformative night for Black representation in the region’s highest executive offices.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott told The Root in an exclusive interview shortly before the results that Bottoms’ race represented something much bigger than a standard political victory, describing how her win could permanently alter the South’s political landscape.
“When you think about the opportunity that we have for Georgia to elect my sister, Keisha Lance Bottoms, as a governor, that would change the way that Georgia is politically forever,” Scott said.
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The Associated Press projected that Republican Byron Donalds defeated Democrat David Jolly to become Florida’s first Black governor, marking a historic milestone in a state increasingly defined by its conservative political identity.
He celebrated the win on X, saying, “We are going to make life in Florida more affordable. We are going to keep our streets safe.” He continued, “Florida is the envy of the nation. I will fight day and night to keep it that way and to lift our state to even greater heights.”
Davis Crowley is projected as the first Black governor in Wisconsin. Only a small handful of Black governors have been elected in United States history, beginning with Reconstruction-era pioneer P.B.S. Pinchback and continuing through leaders like Douglas Wilder, Deval Patrick and Wes Moore.
On the other side of the political divide, Democratic Senate candidate Angie Nixon mounted a competitive challenge against Republican Ashley Moody but ultimately fell short, AP News reported. Yet Nixon’s candidacy represented a different kind of political milestone. As a Black democratic socialist seeking statewide office in a deeply Republican state, Nixon offered a bold challenge to Florida’s MAGA environment. Her candidacy also speaks to a broader conversation about the future of Black political representation– one that extends beyond individual races to questions of power, visibility and influence.
Elsewhere, Black candidates also made their presence felt in races across the country. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore won reelection, securing a second term as the state’s first– and up until this moment, the country’s only– Black governor.
In Ohio, Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes won another term representing the state’s 13th Congressional District. The Times also reported that Georgia Democrat Penny Brown Reynolds, meanwhile, was among the Black candidates competing for statewide office in a closely watched secretary of state race.
