Midterm winners set historic milestones in state and Senate races

Candidates won gubernatorial and Senate races in the 2026 midterms, setting historic representation milestones across several states, according to reported election results. Keisha Lance Bottoms won Georgia’s governorship, Deb Haaland won in New Mexico and Gina Hinojosa defeated incumbent Greg Abbott in Texas. Abdul ElSayed won Michigan’s Senate race, and Chris Pappas won in New Hampshire. Bottoms was reported as the first Black woman elected governor of a U.S. state. Her victory also returned Georgia’s governorship to Democrats after more than two decades of Republican control. Bottoms, a former Atlanta mayor, defeated Republican health care executive Rick Jackson. Haaland, a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo, was reported as the first Native American or Indigenous woman elected governor of a U.S. state. She previously served as Interior secretary under former President Joe Biden, becoming the first Native American to lead a Cabinet department. In Texas, Hinojosa became the state’s first Latina governor after defeating Abbott, a Republican. Other gubernatorial victories also broke state-level barriers. Republican Byron Donalds became Florida’s first Black governor, while Democrat...