The 2026 midterm elections made history for several candidates, as voters are expected to have elected the nation’s first Black, Native American and Latinx women governors, along with other major firsts.
All eyes are on Tuesday night’s results of the high-stakes elections, in which House and Senate races will determine the balance of power in Congress.
But the midterm elections also saw an increase in representation among US lawmakers, with several candidates celebrating unprecedented victories.
This story will be publisheddAyoud as more victories are projectedd.
Stockings Keisha Lance
Democratic candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms is expected, according to ABC News, to become the next governor of Georgia, defeating billionaire Rick Jackson in this closely watched race.
The projected victory for Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, turns the Georgia governor’s mansion blue in a state that President Donald Trump won in 2024.
In the latter part of the race, Bottoms often repeated on the campaign trail that Jackson “may have the money, but the people still have the power.” Before the cycle ended, Jackson had spent more than $200 million of his personal fortune on his campaign.
Georgia has not elected a Democratic governor since 1998. The seat is currently held by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was term limited this year.
This is a major victory for Georgia Democrats, who have targeted this seat for years, falling short in 2018 and 2022 with Democrat Stacey Abrams. In 2018, Abrams lost to Kemp by a margin of 1.4 points.
Deb Haaland
Deb Haaland, the former U.S. Interior Secretary, is expected to win the New Mexico gubernatorial race, becoming the first Indigenous governor in U.S. history.
“Thank you, New Mexico! It is the honor of my life to be elected your 33rd governor,” Haaland wrote on
She is a member of the Laguna Pueblo, a federally recognized tribe in the state.
Haaland’s projected victory Tuesday was against former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull.
In 2018, Haaland became one of the first two Indigenous women elected to Congress.
“In 230 years, there’s never been a Native American woman in Congress. I’ve never seen myself in this body of our government,” Haaland said in an ABC News interview at the time.
Representative Gina Hinojosa
The Texas gubernatorial race is also expected to see a historic first, with Democratic Rep. Gina Hinojosa becoming the state’s first Latino governor.
Hinojosa was running against Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was aiming to win his fourth term.
The stunning victory predicted for Hinojosa, who served in the Texas House of Representatives, comes after he ran on education reform and criticized Abbott over AI data centers.
“This is our last chance to take Texas back from the people,” she wrote on X before the election.
Representative Byron Donalds
Republican Rep. Byron Donalds is expected to win Florida’s gubernatorial race, becoming the state’s first black governor, according to ABC News.
“I am honored and grateful beyond measure,” Donalds said in a victory statement posted on
His campaign made headlines in September when Donald’s website was updated to remove some prominent references to Trump. According to the Miami Herald, Donalds has removed at least eight references to Trump from its website.
However, shortly after the changes, Donalds released a statement on X touting his support for the president.
“I’m proud to have the support of President Trump. While everyone focuses on our website, check out our policy proposals to make life more affordable for Floridians,” Donalds wrote at the time.
Dr. Amy Acton
Dr. Amy Acton, former director of the Ohio Department of Health, is expected to defeat GOP opponent Vivek Ramaswamy for the Ohio governor’s seat.
Acton would become the first woman elected governor of Ohio and the first Jewish governor in the state’s history.
The watershed moment for this campaign came with an ad made by the Ramaswamy campaign that attempted to use Acton’s estranged mother, who fled the state with a husband charged with raping Acton when he was a child, to call Acton a liar. The publicity caused major backlash and an influx of support and visibility for Acton.
David Crowley
In battleground Wisconsin, Democrat David Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, will win and become the state’s first black governor, ABC News projects.
Crowley defeated Tom Tiffany, a Trump ally, for the vacant seat to succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. A former state lawmaker, Crowley campaigned on his track record leading the state’s largest county and fended off attacks from his Republican opponent, who called him weak on crime and immigration.
Crowley campaigned on lowering the cost of living and rejecting “MAGA extremism.”
“Thank you, Wisconsin. Thank you for believing in me,” he wrote in a statement released Tuesday evening. “Being your governor will be the honor of your life.”
Democrats have pinned their hopes on Crowley to win a trifecta of state government for the first time in more than a decade in the swing state.
Representative Chris Pappas
In New Hampshire, ABC News predicts that U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas will win the Senate race, becoming the first openly gay senator.
He is expected to beat former Sen. John Sununu, a Republican backed by President Donald Trump, in the race seen as a must-win race for Democrats.
Pappas has campaigned with prominent Democratic figures such as former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
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