Photo: Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Two landmark gubernatorial victories have placed Black political leadership at the centre of the 2026 US midterm elections, with sharply different implications for Florida and Georgia.
Historic wins in two major states
Republican Byron Donalds has won Florida’s governor’s race, defeating Democrat David Jolly, according to race projections reported by the Associated Press and Florida public media. Donalds, a US congressman, is set to become the first Black governor in Florida’s history when he takes office in January.
DGBN has also reported on Florida Politics Embody How Black People Are Not A Monolith — For Better And Worse.
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated Republican healthcare executive Rick Jackson to become the first Black woman elected governor of any US state. The former Atlanta mayor will also be Georgia’s first woman governor and its first Democratic governor since 2003.
The outcomes underline the political range within Black America: Donalds won while carrying the Republican banner in a state where his party has held the governor’s office for nearly three decades, while Bottoms flipped a long Republican-held office in one of the country’s most closely watched battlegrounds.
Florida keeps its Republican leadership
Donalds’ victory extends Republican control of Tallahassee after outgoing Governor Ron DeSantis completed two consecutive terms. He campaigned on lowering property taxes, reducing insurance-related charges, speeding up development permits and tougher immigration enforcement.
Jolly, a former Republican congressman who ran as a Democrat, made affordability and Florida’s insurance costs central themes of his campaign. The contest was closer than recent statewide races, but Donalds held the advantage as votes were counted.
For more context, read DGBN’s coverage of Progressive Wins Senate Nom And More From The Florida Primary.
His election is nationally significant. Donalds will be the first Black Republican elected governor in US history, following a long pattern in which the few Black Americans elected to statewide executive office have largely been Democrats.
Bottoms breaks a national barrier
Bottoms’ win in Georgia represents an even broader first. Black women have been central to Democratic voter coalitions and grassroots organising for generations, yet no Black woman had previously been elected governor of a US state.
Her campaign focused on expanding Medicaid coverage, housing affordability, public education and lowering household costs. Delivering much of that agenda will require negotiation with Georgia’s Republican-controlled legislature.
Jackson ran as a business-minded political outsider, promoting tax cuts, deregulation and public-safety measures. His campaign argued that these policies would help make Georgia more affordable.
Why this matters
For Black communities in the United States and across the diaspora, the races show both growing representation and the continuing diversity of Black political choices. Florida and Georgia are among the nation’s most influential states, with large Black populations and major roles in presidential politics.
Bottoms’ victory is likely to energise Black women and younger voters who have pressed for greater representation in executive leadership. Donalds’ win, meanwhile, gives Black conservatives their most prominent statewide executive figure in the country.
Related DGBN reporting includes Florida primary 2026: 6 Haitian candidates on the Aug. 18 ballot.
The two results do not point to a single Black electoral bloc. They do demonstrate that Black candidates are increasingly competing — and winning — at the highest level of state government.