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Democrats win a majority of governorships, flipping Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Iowa

The short answer: Democrats will hold at least 27 of the 50 governorships next year, a majority for the first time since Republicans took control in the 2010 elections, AP and NBC News report. Democrats flipped Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, according to AP, and NBC News projects a fifth flip in Nevada. Kansas and Alaska were still uncalled Wednesday morning.

Democrats will hold at least 27 governor's offices in 2027. Here's who won, which desk called each race, what's still uncalled, and the history made Tuesday night. All results are unofficial.

By Published Last updated 8 sources linked
The pink granite Texas State Capitol in Austin with its dome and the U.S. and Texas flags, seen across trees under a blue sky
The Texas State Capitol in Austin, photographed in 2014. File photo. Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (cropped to 16:9) · Public domain

How the left and right covered it

Each outlet is linked. Lean labels are ours.

Left-leaning coverage

Right-leaning coverage

Common ground

  • Outlets on both sides call Texas a stunning upset and note the historic firsts (Hinojosa, Bottoms); both cite Trump's post blaming Abbott or his drag on the party.

Results as of 7:15 a.m. CT, Nov. 4, 2026. This page will be updated as remaining races are called.

Democrats will hold at least 27 of the 50 governorships next year, a majority for the first time since Republicans took control in the 2010 elections, AP and NBC News report. Democrats flipped Georgia, Iowa, Ohio and Texas, according to AP, and NBC News projects a fifth flip in Nevada. Kansas and Alaska were still uncalled Wednesday morning.

Key facts (as of 7:15 a.m. CT Nov. 4; unofficial) - Democrats: at least 27 governorships in 2027 (AP). Republicans held 26 of 50 going in. - Flips called by AP: Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, Texas - Nevada: NBC News projects Democrat Aaron Ford beat Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo - Still uncalled: Kansas (very close) and Alaska (Democrat leading) - Keisha Lance Bottoms is the first Black woman elected governor of any state (AP) - 36 states elected governors Tuesday

Which states flipped to Democrats?

Four, according to AP's race calls. NBC News projects a fifth:

  • Texas: State Rep. Gina Hinojosa beat three-term Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. She will be Texas' first Latina governor and the first Democrat elected governor there since 1990, AP reports. Hinojosa was outspent 5-to-1 on ads, according to AdImpact data cited by AP. Abbott conceded, Fox News reported.
  • Georgia: Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms beat Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire who spent more than $200 million of his own money, AP reports. She is the first Black woman elected governor of any state and the first Democrat to win Georgia's governorship since 1998.
  • Ohio: Democrat Amy Acton beat Republican Vivek Ramaswamy to succeed Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. The Guardian notes she is the first woman elected governor of Ohio.
  • Iowa: State Auditor Rob Sand beat Republican Zach Lahn. He is the first Democrat elected governor of Iowa in two decades, AP reports.
  • Nevada (NBC News projection): Attorney General Aaron Ford unseated Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, NBC News projects. He will be Nevada's first Black governor. The AP story we read did not name a Nevada winner, so we attribute this call to NBC.

Which key governor's races did Democrats hold?

Democrats were trying to win the governorship in all six 2024 presidential swing states, AP reports, and they won the four they were defending. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro won re-election by more than 20 points, NBC News says, and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs also won another term. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won Wisconsin's open seat, and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson won Michigan's.

Elsewhere, AP reports that Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek beat Republican Christine Drazan, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul was re-elected and Xavier Becerra won California. Deb Haaland won in New Mexico, becoming the first Native American woman elected to lead a state. Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and JB Pritzker of Illinois, two possible 2028 presidential candidates, won re-election.

What did Republicans win?

Florida. U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds beat David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who ran as a Democrat, AP reports. Donalds will be Florida's first Black governor, The Guardian notes. Late Tuesday, the New York Post reported Republicans narrowly leading uncalled races in New Hampshire, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina. We have not confirmed a call in those states.

Republicans' best pickup chance was Kansas, where Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly is term-limited, AP says.

Which governor's races are still uncalled?

  • Kansas: Democratic state Sen. Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson were "locked in a tight contest," NBC News reported at 4:34 a.m. CT. NBC's results page showed Holscher at 50.3% and Masterson at 49.7% with about 98% of the expected vote counted. Kansas has had a Democratic governor for eight years.
  • Alaska: About a third of the vote was still to be counted, and Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins had a wide lead, The Guardian reported. Alaska hasn't elected a Democratic governor since 1998, AP notes.

Why does AP say 'two decades' and NBC say '16 years'?

They're measuring different things, and both are right. AP counts from the last time Democrats gained a governors' majority: in 2006, when they flipped six offices in the midterm of a second-term Republican president. NBC counts from when Democrats last held one. Republicans retook the majority in the 2010 elections and have held it since.

What history was made?

  • Black governors: Only three Black governors had ever been elected in the U.S., including Moore, AP reports. Wins by Bottoms, Crowley and Donalds double that in one election. NBC News also counts Ford and notes that no more than one Black governor has ever served at a time.
  • Latina and Native American governors: Hinojosa will be Texas' first Latina governor, and Haaland will be the first Native American woman to lead a state.
  • Women: States were on course to possibly beat the record of 14 female governors serving at once, AP reports.

Why it matters

Governors can sue the federal government, decide whether to work with federal immigration operations and National Guard call-ups, and in some states appoint the officials who run elections. AP notes the winners could have "substantial influence over election administration during the 2028 presidential election."

Sources

Photo: Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain (cropped to 16:9). The Texas State Capitol in Austin, photographed in 2014. File photo.

Drafted with AI assistance from primary sources. Written and edited by The Whole Read newsroom under Monsaur Othman's editorial standards. Read how we use AI, our editorial policy and our corrections policy.

Claim-level evidence

  • Democrats will hold at least 27 governorships in 2027; Republicans held 26 of 50 going in; Democrats last gained a majority in 2006 and lost it four years later. source 1 · source 2
  • Bottoms (GA), Acton (OH), Sand (IA) and Hinojosa (TX) won, flipping GOP-held offices (AP). source 1 · source 2
  • NBC News projects Ford unseated Lombardo in Nevada; Ford will be Nevada's first Black governor. source 1
  • Shapiro (PA) and Hobbs (AZ) re-elected; Crowley (WI) and Benson (MI) won open seats; Donalds (R) won Florida; Kotek, Hochul re-elected; Becerra won California; Haaland first Native American woman elected governor; Moore, Pritzker re-elected (AP). source 1
  • Kansas: Holscher and Masterson locked in a tight contest (NBC, 4:34 a.m. CT); NBC results table 50.3%-49.7% with 97.9% in. source 1 · source 2
  • Alaska: about a third of votes still to be counted; Kreiss-Tomkins had a wide lead (Guardian). source 1 · source 2
  • Hinojosa is the first Democrat elected Texas governor since 1990 and the state's first Latina governor; Abbott conceded; Trump blamed Abbott on Truth Social. source 1 · source 2
  • Hinojosa was outspent 5-to-1 on ads (AdImpact, per AP); the DGA gave her $1 million. source 1
  • Before Tuesday, only three elected U.S. governors had been Black; Bottoms, Crowley and Donalds double that (AP). NBC adds Ford and notes there has never been more than one Black governor serving at a time. source 1 · source 2