Tuesday’s elections bring historic first for Black governors
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.GettyShareAdd NBC News to GoogleNov. 3, 2026, 9:15 PM ESTBy Adam EdelmanFor the first time in U.S. history, multiple elected Black governors will serve at the same time — and it remains possible that voters will elect more this year than the three who have already won so far.
That historic first is the result of Democratic Gov. Wes Moore winning re-election in Maryland, Republican Rep. Byron Donalds prevailing in the Florida governor’s race, and Georgia Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms winning in her state.
Prior to Bottoms’ and Donalds’ victories Tuesday night, the only elected Black governors in U.S. history had been Moore, Deval Patrick, a Democrat who was elected Massachusetts’ governor in 2006, and L. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat who was elected Virginia’s governor in 1989. None served simultaneously.
In an October interview with NBC News, Donalds said that the history-making aspect of his candidacy was “very special.”
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Bottoms, Donalds and Moore may not stay in such rare company for long: Five other Black major-party candidates for governor are on the ballot Tuesday.
FOR SUBSCRIBERSThe battlegrounds our journalists are reporting fromFOR SUBSCRIBERSThe midterms are over, and Trump is over the midtermsFOR SUBSCRIBERSWhat is rhabdo? Rare muscle condition linked to marathon runner’s deathFOR SUBSCRIBERSDOJ is deploying a record number of monitors on Election Day FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow to watch election night: Key races, poll closing times, bellwether campaigns and moreFOR SUBSCRIBERSThe Data Dive: Steve Kornacki’s guide to early election night bellwethersFOR SUBSCRIBERS‘Terrible betrayal’: House Democrats consider whether to banish Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens FOR SUBSCRIBERSChatGPT and other AI tools rely on a small Brooklyn nonprofit for voting informationFOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump wants states to set aside ballots. So far, federal judges aren’t having it.FOR SUBSCRIBERSHow NBC News has prepared to cover election nightFOR SUBSCRIBERSWelcome to the gas price electionFOR SUBSCRIBERSJosh Shapiro takes on Pennsylvania Democrats’ biggest challenge: Beating Brian FitzpatrickFOR SUBSCRIBERSIs Brazil the exception to Latin America’s right-wing wave? Why the region is shiftingFOR SUBSCRIBERSNetwork of independent AI evaluators aims to boost public insight into AI giantsFOR SUBSCRIBERSThe fight for young men comes to MichiganSlide 1 of 1Black Democratic gubernatorial candidates are running in another pair of battleground states: Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in Wisconsin and state Attorney General Aaron Ford in Nevada.
In South Carolina, another Black Democrat, state Rep. Jermaine Johnson, faces a more difficult path to victory in the traditionally red state’s race for governor.
On the Republican side, Rep. John James is running in a competitive gubernatorial race against Democrat Jocelyn Benson, while Minnesota state House Speaker Lisa Demuth is seen as an underdog in Minnesota’s gubernatorial contest.
Adam EdelmanI cover state legislatures, politics and policy — and how those topics coalesce into and intersect with national political trends. Given what state lawmakers have focused on in recent years, my coverage areas tend to veer into reproductive rights, voting rights and education policy. I was born and raised in Milwaukee, and I try to make my native state proud by covering as many of its fascinating political stories as I can.
