By Sohaib Shams
Voters in the 2026 midterm elections are projected to elect a record number of Black governors, marking historic firsts across multiple states and both major parties. With votes still being counted, ABC News projects that six Black candidates will win gubernatorial races, raising Black representation among the nation's chief state executives to 10% for the first time.
Gubernatorial breakthroughs
Democrats Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, David Crowley in Wisconsin, and Aaron Ford in Nevada are projected to win, alongside Republican Byron Donalds in Florida. Incumbent Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the state's first Black governor elected in 2022, is projected to win reelection. In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Democratic Delegate Stacey Plaskett is projected to become the territory's first woman chief executive.
Historic firsts for each winner
Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor descended from enslaved people, becomes the nation's first Black woman elected governor and Georgia's first Black and first woman governor. Donalds, a congressman endorsed by President Donald Trump, becomes the first Black Republican elected governor. Crowley will be Wisconsin's first Black governor in its 178-year history. Ford, Nevada's attorney general, will be the first Black person elected governor west of the Mississippi River.
Down-ballot milestones
Historic victories extended beyond governors' races. In New York, Adrienne Adams is projected to become the state's first Black woman elected lieutenant governor. Oklahoma Republican T.W. Shannon, a member of the Chickasaw Nation, is projected to become the state's first Black and Chickasaw lieutenant governor. South Carolina state Sen. Mike Reichenbach is set to become the state's first Black lieutenant governor since 1876. Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, the state's first Black lieutenant governor, is projected to win a second term.
Senate milestone
Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is projected to win the state's U.S. Senate seat, becoming the sixth Black woman to serve in the chamber. She would join Sens. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, marking the first time three Black women serve simultaneously in the Senate.
Context and setbacks
Before Tuesday, only three Black Americans had ever been elected governor: L. Douglas Wilder in Virginia (1989), Deval Patrick in Massachusetts (2006), and Wes Moore in Maryland (2022). Not all Black candidates prevailed; Republican John James lost in Michigan, Democrat Jermaine Johnson fell short in South Carolina, and democratic socialist Angie Nixon lost Florida's Senate race to appointed incumbent Ashley Moody.
