Democrats are on track for big gains in governor races, notching victories in Ohio, Texas, Iowa, Georgia and Wisconsin, according to US media projections, with a number of other races still too early to call as of early Wednesday.
Two candidates made history. In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms became the country's first Black woman elected governor. And in Texas, Democrat Gina Hinojosa became the first Latina governor in the state's history, unseating a well-financed Republican incumbent in a historically conservative state.
A total of three dozen governor races were on the ballot in the elections, with President Donald Trump's unpopularity and the cost of living at the top of voters' minds, alongside local concerns ranging from water rights and data centers to cancer rates.
If Democrats can manage a net gain of at least two seats they will lead a majority of states for the first time since 2010.
Here are eight key governor races:
TEXAS
Hinojosa, a Texas state representative, defeated Texas Governor Greg Abbott to become the first Democrat to be elected governor since 1990. She also became the first Latina governor in the state's history.
Hinojosa emerged as an unexpected competitor to one of the best-known and best-funded Republican governors in the country. Abbott outspent Hinojosa nearly eight-to-one, according to the Texas Tribune.
Democrats initially wrote off the Texas governor's race and struggled to find a candidate willing to run against Abbott.
GEORGIA
Bottoms, the former Atlanta mayor, beat Republican Rick Jackson, a billionaire healthcare executive, in the race to succeed Republican Governor Brian Kemp. In doing so, she became the first Black woman elected governor in the US and the first Democrat elected governor of Georgia in more than a quarter century.
Both parties viewed the gubernatorial race as an early test of voter sentiment in a state that will likely be a key presidential battleground in 2028.
Jackson, who spent more than $100 million of his own money on the race, generally aligned himself with Trump's agenda, while Bottoms sought to mobilize the diverse Democratic coalition that helped Biden win the state in 2020.
Bottoms rose to national prominence in 2020 as she guided Georgia's largest city through protests, civil unrest and the COVID-19 pandemic. Her base is in the Atlanta metro area, whose rapid growth has reshaped Georgia politics.
OHIO
Democrat Amy Acton, a physician, defeated Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy after a race that drew national attention over an explosive attack ad featuring Acton’s estranged mother. In a video run by the Ramaswamy campaign, Donna Arthur disputed Acton's account of a childhood marked by homelessness and sexual abuse and urged Ohioans not to vote for her.
Acton, a former director of the Ohio Department of Health who led the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, has said she was sexually abused by her stepfather. The stepfather, who died in 2004, fled the state after he was charged with raping his stepdaughter and never stood trial.
The state's reputation as a perennial swing state faded after 2016 when Trump won it with strong support from working-class voters, who helped to turn it into a reliably Republican state. Democrats have won just one of the state’s last nine gubernatorial elections.
IOWA
State Auditor Rob Sand, the only Iowa Democrat currently holding statewide elected office, beat Republican businessman Zach Lahn in the state's first open governor's race since 2006. Incumbent Republican Governor Kim Reynolds did not seek reelection.
The state's incidence of cancer, at the second-highest rate in the country behind Kentucky, emerged as a major campaign topic alongside kitchen-table issues such as the cost of living. Interest was fueled by worries that exposure to nitrates, pesticides and other environmental contaminants may be contributing to the high cancer rate.
The race also focused on education and government accountability. Sand campaigned as an independent watchdog critical of Republican fiscal management and the state's private-school voucher program.
Lahn embraced lower taxes, school choice and a more conservative approach to social issues.
WISCONSIN
A central question in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race has been whether voters, who backed Trump in 2024 and Biden in 2020, want a governor aligned with the Republican president. Republican Tom Tiffany, a three-term US Representative endorsed by Trump, has played down that connection. But his Democratic opponent, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, won the race after seeking to link Tiffany to Trump's agenda.
In Congress, Tiffany has supported conservative causes such as gun rights and lower taxes, and co-sponsored federal legislation that would have banned most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. Crowley campaigned on support for abortion rights. Wisconsin bans abortion after 20 weeks and requires a 24-hour waiting period as well as parental consent for minors.
NEVADA
In a contest centered on affordability, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo is in a neck-and-neck race with Democratic challenger Aaron Ford, the state’s attorney general.
Nevada residents have voiced concerns over tariffs, a tourism slowdown and high gas prices, giving Ford an opening to defeat Lombardo despite the incumbent's 2-1 fundraising advantage.
Data centers have also emerged as a central campaign issue. Ford has proposed a halt to new data-center tax abatements and wants to require that developers shield residents from higher energy costs. He has also called for strong regulations to protect jobs from AI.
Lombardo, while imposing new restrictions on some of the tax incentives that lured the industry to the state, has generally championed data centers as an economic driver.
ARIZONA
Water has become a key campaign issue in drought-hit Arizona, where Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs is seeking reelection against Republican US Representative Andy Biggs. Other top issues are cost of living and immigration, with Hobbs seeking to position herself as tougher on border security than many national Democrats.
Biggs is a former head of the right-wing US House Freedom Caucus, which has pushed for deep cuts in federal spending.
Abortion rights have featured prominently in the race, with Hobbs a supporter while Biggs has a long record as an opponent. Arizona voters approved a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights in 2024.
MICHIGAN
Michigan's race is one of the most competitive gubernatorial contests, pitting Democrat Jocelyn Benson, the state's top election official, against Republican US Representative John James. The candidates are battling to succeed term-limited Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, making it one of 19 open-seat races this cycle.
Michigan is a closely divided swing state that Trump won in 2016 and 2024, while Biden carried it in 2020. Neither party has elected back-to-back governors in the state since the 1960s.
Reuters
