November 4, 2026, 6:08 p.m. ET
A record five Black governors will serve at the same time starting in January, a historic milestone after the Nov. 3 midterm elections nearly doubled the number of Black Americans ever elected governor in the United States.
Before this election, only three black Americans had been elected governor: Wes Moore in Maryland, Deval Patrick in Massachusetts and Doug Wilder in Virginia. Never had two been used simultaneously. On Election Day, four black gubernatorial candidates broke barriers in their states, joining Moore, who was re-elected.
The victories are part of a series of historic firsts dominated by Democrats, who flipped seven Senate seats and 25 House seats to take control of Congress. Voters also elected the nation’s first Native American female governor, the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate and the first Muslim U.S. senator.
“The story of this election is about more than who won,” NAACP field chief Dominik Whitehead said in a Nov. 4 statement. “It’s about the wave of black voters who understood the issues and made their voices heard.”
Here’s a look at the five historic black governors of the United States who will take office.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, Georgia
Democrat and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms made history as the first Black woman and first female governor of Georgia, defeating GOP pick Rick Jackson to end Republicans’ 24-year reign in the state. This victory also earned her the title of the country’s first black female governor.
Lance Bottoms, 56, is an attorney who served as an Atlanta City Council member, magistrate judge and prosecutor before serving as mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 and then a senior advisor in the Biden administration. His midterm campaign focused on affordability, housing, health care access and Medicaid expansion.
“If we want a better Georgia, we have to fight for it,” she said during an Oct. 13 debate, as reported by USA TODAY. “We can make Georgia more affordable, restore women’s right to choose, protect our voting rights, protect our communities from data center growth, ensure every child has the opportunity to succeed, and fight Donald Trump’s dangerous policies.”
Lance Bottoms is the mother of four adopted children with her husband, Derek W. Bottoms.
Byron Donalds, Florida
U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the only Republican candidate on the list, dodged the Election Day blue wave to become Florida’s first black governor. His victory continues nearly three decades of Republican leadership in the state.
Also the country’s first black Republican governor, the 48-year-old beat his Democratic challenger David Jolly by promising to continue Governor Ron DeSantis’ policies on education, deregulation and immigration.
A prominent conservative and member of the House Freedom Caucus, Donalds began his political career in the Florida House, where he served from 2016 to 2020. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2020 and has represented Florida’s 19th congressional district since 2021.
“The truth is, in our state, we have people who are struggling,” Donalds said in his victory speech, USA TODAY reported. “We have people looking at their insurance bills. We have people looking at their bank accounts, not month to month, but day to day, trying to figure out how they’re going to make ends meet.”
His professional career before politics was in finance, during which time he worked for institutions such as TIB Bank and Wells Fargo Advisors. He is the father of three sons with his wife Erika Lees.
David Crowley, Wisconsin
Democrat David Crowley defeated Republican Tom Tiffany to become Wisconsin’s first black governor, months after briefly suspending his campaign. At 40, the Milwaukee County executive will also become the state’s youngest governor in nearly a century.
Crowley represented Milwaukee’s 17th District in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2017 to 2020 before becoming the first Black candidate and youngest to be elected to Milwaukee County Executive in 2020. His previous political career included working on U.S. Senator Russ Feingold’s 2010 re-election campaign and serving as a legislative aide to Milwaukee County Supervisor Nikiya Harris Dodd.
His campaign focused on affordability, opportunity and economic growth.
“Wisconsin, it’s a very good day. It’s a very good day. Because of you, a boy who grew up facing evictions will now live in the governor’s mansion,” Crowley said at his campaign event in Milwaukee, USA TODAY reported. “Thank you for trusting me. That’s ultimately what voting is. A tremendous leap of faith. Not faith in a person or a party, but faith in ideas and lessons learned – that good leadership can make a difference in people’s lives.”
Crowley has two daughters with his wife Ericka Crowley and a stepdaughter from a previous marriage.
Aaron Ford, Nevada
Democrat, state Attorney General and former state Sen. Aaron Ford completed a list of “firsts” by defeating Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo to become Nevada’s first black governor, the Reno Gazette Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Ford, 54, is an attorney who was first elected to the Nevada Senate, where he represented the 11th District from 2013 to 2018 and served as both minority and majority leader. He was elected Nevada attorney general in 2018 and became the state’s first Black constitutional officer when he took office in 2019; he was re-elected in 2022.
Before his political career, Ford worked as a public school teacher and clerked for federal judges on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals before joining several law firms. He holds a master’s degree in international education from George Washington University as well as an M.A., J.D., and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.
Ford outlined an agenda focused on affordable housing, lowering health care costs, creating jobs and lowering the cost of living.
“Tonight’s victory belongs to the cleaners, nurses, teachers, rideshare drivers, electricians and all Nevada workers who will no longer have to settle for working harder than ever and who are struggling harder and harder just to be able to live,” he said in a statement after his victory.
Ford has three sons with his wife and fellow attorney Berna Rhodes.
Wes Moore, Maryland
Incumbent Democrat Wes Moore made history in 2022 when he became Maryland’s first Black governor. Tuesday marked his second victory against Republican challenger Dan Cox, who also ran in 2022.
Moore, 48, had never held elected office before winning the gubernatorial race. A U.S. Army veteran, best-selling author and former CEO of the Robin Hood Foundation, Moore became president of the National Governors Association in August, making him a prominent figure among the nation’s governors.
Its agenda focuses on economic opportunity, education, poverty reduction and public safety.
“When our time is up, I want a Maryland where everyone has a chance to succeed, no matter where their story begins,” he said in his victory speech.
Moore has two children with his wife Dawn Flythe.
Contributor: Terry Collins, USA TODAY; John Pacenti and Alicia Devine, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida; Molly Beck, Mary Spicuzza and Laura Schulte, USA TODAY NETWORK; Mark Robison, Reno Gazette Journal
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