U.S. elections: a night of historic firsts in governors’ races, from Georgia to California

The elections on Tuesday, November 3, produced a series of historic firsts in United States governors’ races, with victories breaking representation barriers in Georgia, New Mexico, California, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Tennessee and Minnesota, according to NPR coverage released on Wednesday.

In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms, former mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022, defeated Republican Rick Jackson and will become the first Black woman elected governor of a state in the country’s history. She is also the first Democrat to win Georgia’s governorship in more than two decades.

In New Mexico, Democrat Deb Haaland, former Interior secretary and a citizen of the Pueblo of Laguna, defeated Republican Gregg Hull and will be the first Native American woman elected governor of a U.S. state. Haaland had already made history as one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and as the first Interior secretary of Native descent.

In California, Democrat Xavier Becerra, the son of Mexican immigrants, former state attorney general and former U.S. Health secretary, defeated Republican Steve Hilton and will be the first Latino governor elected in California, where he will succeed Gavin Newsom.

The list goes on: in Ohio, Democrat Amy Acton will be the first woman elected governor of that state after defeating Vivek Ramaswamy; in Florida, Republican Byron Donalds will be the state’s first Black governor; in Wisconsin, Democrat David Crowley will also be the first Black governor; in Tennessee, Republican Marsha Blackburn will be the first woman governor; and in Minnesota, Democrat Amy Klobuchar will be the first woman in that office.

Added to these firsts is the previously reported victory of Democrat Gina Hinojosa in Texas, the state’s first Latina governor. Taken together, the results reflect an electorate that, according to election-night analyses, voted shaped by the cost of living and a desire for change.

Photo: Megan Varner / Getty Images

Source: NPR Illinois