Gina Hinojosa unseats Greg Abbott in a Texas upset
Democrats won a series of major 2026 gubernatorial contests, with victories in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, New Mexico and California, The Guardian reported. The party was hoping to win a majority of governor’s offices across the US after significant wins in Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Iowa, The Guardian said.
Gina Hinojosa, a Democratic state representative, unseated Republican incumbent Greg Abbott in Texas in a stunning upset, The Guardian reported. Hinojosa will be the state’s first Latina governor and the first Democrat elected to the Texas governorship in 30 years.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, was elected governor of Georgia after defeating billionaire Rick Jackson, marking a major win for Democrats in another red stronghold, The Guardian reported. Bottoms will be the first Black woman to be elected governor of any state. Republicans have held the Georgia governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature for more than 20 years.
A photograph by Ryan Murphy/AP shows Bottoms greeting supporters at a campaign event on Sunday in Macon, Georgia.
Amy Acton defeated Republican Vivek Ramaswamy in Ohio, becoming the state’s first woman governor and its first Democratic governor since 2006, The Guardian reported. The race drew national attention after Ramaswamy’s campaign aired what The Guardian described as a much-maligned ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother. Her mother had lost custody of her children after her husband was accused of sexually abusing Acton as a child; in the ad, she sharply criticized her daughter.
David Crowley defeated Republican Tom Tiffany in Wisconsin to become the state’s first Black governor. Crowley had withdrawn from the race only to rejoin at the urging of the outgoing Democratic governor, Tony Evers, and overcame a massive fundraising gap to win the governorship, The Guardian reported.
In Florida, Republican congressman Byron Donalds, a strong Trump ally, edged out the former Republican turned Democrat David Jolly to become the Sunshine state’s first Black governor, The Guardian reported.
Democrat Deb Haaland was elected governor of New Mexico, making her the first Native American woman to win a governorship, and Xavier Becerra, also a Democrat, was elected California’s first Latino governor, The Guardian reported.
Other state victories in Iowa, Pennsylvania and New York
Rob Sand pulled off an upset against Republican Zach Lahn in Iowa, marking a major step towards the party rebuilding its standing in a state that has voted for Donald Trump three times and where the GOP has dominated state politics in recent years, The Guardian reported.
Democrats also racked up gubernatorial victories in Pennsylvania, where popular incumbent Josh Shapiro handily defeated Stacy Garrity, and in New York, where Kathy Hochul sailed to re-election, The Guardian reported.
Congressional attention and the 2028 presidential contest
The governor contests unfolded as media attention focused intensely on the battle to control the US Congress, including whether Democrats could not only flip the House of Representatives but also win most of the Senate, The Guardian reported. In The Guardian’s assessment, upsets in gubernatorial races in traditionally Republican states could reset the map before the 2028 presidential contest.
Most of the states commonly described as swing states that help determine who wins the White House, including Michigan and Wisconsin, were among the 36 states electing governors in Tuesday’s midterm elections, The Guardian reported.
The Guardian noted that Republicans have held a majority of governorships since the 2010 election.
The first two years of Donald Trump’s second term as president have underscored the roles Democratic governors play in serving as a bulwark against Trump’s most excessive policies, including by filing lawsuits and other executive actions, The Guardian said. Rules differ state by state: some governors appoint the election officials who oversee elections, and governors can sign legislation to protect voter rights.