Florida elects first Black governor

Byron Donalds secured a victory in Tuesday's election by a margin of 150,000 votes over his Democratic opponent, David Jolly. With more than 98% of the ballots counted, the Republican lead was solid enough for Fox News and NBC to project his win. Donalds will serve as Florida's governor starting next January.

The result makes Donalds the first Black person to lead the state. He also becomes the first African American elected as a governor under the Republican Party banner anywhere in the country. Previously, only three Black men had held the office: Douglas Wilder in Virginia from 1990 to 1994, Deval Patrick in Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015, and Wes Moore in Maryland from 2023 to the present.

Donalds replaces Republican Ron DeSantis, who finishes his second term this month. The Constitution prevents DeSantis from running for a third consecutive term. Donalds, a member of the Make America Great Again movement and an ally of President Donald Trump, served as a U.S. representative for six years before seeking the governorship.

The victory continues a streak of conservative leadership in Florida. Donalds will be the fifth straight Republican governor in the state, a position that has been held by the party since 1998. Before the modern era, Florida was often viewed as a swing state, but its political center of gravity has shifted firmly right.

Voters in Georgia also made history on Tuesday. Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Black Democrat, defeated her opponent to become the first Black woman elected as a state governor in the United States. She will take office in January alongside Donalds.

The elections were part of a nationwide mid-term contest during President Trump's term. Americans chose all 435 members of the House of Representatives, one third of the Senate, and various state and local officials.